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THE 
PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 


ERUPTION   OF  VOLCANO   ON  THE   ISLAND   OF   KYUSHU,   JAPAN 
To  the  world  a  symbol:  to  Japan  a  fact 


THE 
PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 


BY 


SYDNEY  GREENBIE 

AUTHOR  OF  "JAPAN:    REAL  AND  IMAGINARY" 


ILLUSTRATED 
WITH   PHOTOGRAPHS 


NEW  YORK 

THE  CENTURY  CO. 

1921 


Copyright,  1921,  by 
THE  CENTURY  Co. 


Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 


TO  BARRIE 

WHO  DID  HIS  BEST  TO 

PREVENT  THE  WRITING  OF  THIS 

BOOK,    IN    THE    HOPE    THAT    HE    MAY 

SOME  DAT  READ  IT  AND  REPENT  OF  HIS  SINS. 


PREFACE 

This  book  is  an  attempt  to  bring  within  focus  the  most 
outstanding  factors  in  the  Pacific.  With  the  exception 
of  Chapter  II,  which  deals  with  the  origin  of  the  Poly- 
nesian people,  there  is  hardly  an  incident  in  the  whole 
book  that  has  not  come  within  the  scope  of  my  own  per- 
sonal experience.  Hence  this  is  essentially  a  travel  nar- 
rative. I  have  confined  myself  to  the  task  of  interpreting 
the  problems  of  the  Pacific  in  the  light  of  the  episodes  of 
everyday  life.  Wherever  possible,  I  have  tried  to  let 
the  incident  speak  for  itself,  and  to  include  in  the  picture 
the  average  ideals  of  the  various  races,  together  with 
my  own  impressions  of  them  and  my  own  reflections. 
The  field  is  a  tremendous  one.  It  encompasses  the  most 
important  regions  that  lie  along  the  great  avenues  of 
commerce  and  general  intercourse.  The  Pacific  is  a 
great  combination  of  geographical,  ethnological,  and  po- 
litical factors  that  is  extremely  diverse  in  its  sources. 
I  have  tried  to  discern  within  them  a  unit  of  human 
commonality,  as  the  seeker  after  truth  is  bound  to  do  if 
his  discoveries  are  to  be  of  any  value. 

But  the  result  has  been  an  unconventional  book.  For 
I  have  sometimes  been  compelled  to  make  unity  of  time 
and  place  subservient  to  that  of  subject  matter.  Hence 
the  reader  may  on  occasion  feel  that  the  book  returns 
to  the  same  field  more  than  once.  That  has  been  unavoid- 
able. The  problems  that  are  found  in  Hawaii  are  essen- 
tially the  same  as  those  in  Samoa,  though  differing  in 
degree.  It  has  therefore  been  necessary,  after  surveying 
the  whole  field  in  one  continuous  narrative  of  my  own 
journey,  to  assemble  stories,  types,  and  descriptions 
which  illustrate  certain  problems,  in  separate  chapters, 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

regardless  of  their  geographical  settings.  If  the  reader 
bears  this  in  mind  he  will  not  be  surprised  in  Book  Two 
to  find  himself  in  Fiji,  Samoa,  Hawaii,  or  New  Zealand 
all  at  once — for  issues  are  always  more  important  than 
boundaries. 

The  plan  of  the  book  has  been  to  give  the  historical 
approach  to  the  Pacific  and  its  native  races ;  then  to  take 
the  reader  upon  a  journey  of  over  twenty  thousand  miles 
around  the  Pacific.  I  hope  that  he  will  come  away  with  a 
clear  impression  of  the  immensity  of  the  Ocean,  of  the 
diversity  of  its  natural  and  human  elements,  and  the 
splendor  and  picturesqueness  of  its  make-up.  Out 
of  this  review  certain  problems  emerge,  the  problems  of 
the  relations  of  native  and  alien  races,  of  marriages  and 
divorces,  of  markets  and  ideals — problems  that  affect  the 
primitive  races  in  their  own  new  place  in  the  world.  But 
over  and  above  and  about  these  come  the  issues  that 
involve  the  more  advanced  races  of  Asia,  Australasia, 
and  America — where  they  impinge  upon  each  other  and 
where  their  interests  in  these  minor  races  center.  This 
is  the  logic  of  the  Pacific. 

Though  the  importance  of  these  problems  is  now  ob- 
vious to  the  world,  I  feel  grateful  to  those  who  encour- 
aged me  while  I  still  felt  myself  almost  like  a  voice 
crying  in  the  wilderness,  on  the  subject.  I  therefore  feel 
specially  indebted  to  the  editors  of  North  American 
Review,  World's  Work  and  the  Outlook,  who  first  pub- 
lished some  of  the  material  here  incorporated.  But  so 
rapid  has  been  the  movement  of  events  that  in  no  case 
has  it  been  possible  for  me  to  use  more  than  the  essence 
of  the  ideas  there  published.  In  order  to  bring  them  up 
to  date,  they  have  been  completely  re-written  and  made 
an  integral  part  of  this  book.  Two  or  three  of  the  de- 
scriptive chapters  have  also  appeared  in  Century  Maga>- 
zine  and  Harper's  Monthly,  for  permission  to  reprint 
which  I  am  indebted  to  them. 

There  is  a  further  indebtedness  which  is  much  more 


PEEFACE  ix 

difficult  of  acknowledgment.  To  my  wife,  Marjorie 
Barstow,  I  am  under  obligation  not  only  for  her  stead- 
fast encouragement,  but  for  her  judgment,  understand- 
ing, and  untiring  patience,  without  which  my  career  of 
authorship  would  have  been  trying  indeed. 

SYDNEY  GBEENBIE. 
Greensboro,  Vermont, 
August  4,  1921, 


CONTENTS 

BOOK  ONE 
HISTORICAL  AND  TRAVEL  MATERIAL 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    THE  HEART  OF  THE  PACIFIC 3 

II    THE  MYSTERY  OF  MYSTERIES 15 

III  OUR  FRONTIER  IN  THE  PACIFIC 30 

IV  THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS 52 

V    THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS 79 

VI    THE  APHELION  OF  BRITAIN 108 

VII    ASTRIDE  THE  EQUATOR 128 

VIII    THE  AUSTRALIAN  OUTLANDS 143 

IX    OUR  PEG  IN  ASIA 158 

X    BRITAIN'S  ROCK  IN  ASIA 168 

XI    CHINA'S  EUROPEAN  CAPITAL 179 

XII    WORLD  CONSCIOUSNESS 192 

BOOK  TWO 

DISCUSSION  OF  NATIVE  PROBLEMS- 
PERSONAL  AND  SOCIAL 

XIII  EXIT  THE  NOBLE  SAVAGE 205 

XIV  GIVE  Us  OUR  Vu  GODS  AGAIN! 222 

XV    His  TATTOOED  WIFE 237 

XVI    GIVING  HEARTS  A  NEW  CHANCE 254 

XVII    "THIS  LITTLE  PIG  WENT  TO  MARKET" 265 


xii  CONTENTS 

BOOK  THREE 

DISCUSSION  OF  THE  POLITICAL  PROBLEMS 

INVOLVING  AUSTRALASIA,  ASIA 

AND  AMERICA 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVIII    AUSTRALASIA 281 

XIX    JAPAN  AND  ASIA 297 

XX    AMERICA 312 

XXI    WHERE  THE  PROBLEM  DOVETAILS 330 

XXII    AUSTRALIA  AND  THE  ANGLO-JAPANESE  ALLIANCE     .     .  347 

XXIII  POLITICAL  ALLIES  AND  FINANCIAL  CONSORTS     .     .     .  364 

XXIV  UNCHARTED  SEAS 384 

APPENDIX 395 

INDEX  397 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Eruption  of  volcano  on  the  island  of  Kyushu,  Japan    .       Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

Map  of  the  Pacific .     .     .     .     .  16 

Diamond  head  near  Honolulu 20 

The  hulk  of  the  German  man-of-war,  the  Adler   ......  20 

After  seven  days  of  sea — this  emerged     .           21 

Hilo,   Hawaii        ,: 21 

Even  Fijians  are  loath  to  forget  the  arts  of  their  forefathers    .     .  28 

In  giant  canoes  Heliolithic  immigrants  roamed  the  South  Seas  .  29 

There  are  only  a  few  Chinese  women  in  Hawaii 36 

A  sage  in  a  china  shop  at  Honolulu 36 

Feminine  propriety 37 

Whoa !  Let's  have  our  picture  taken 37 

Miles  away  rose  the  fumes  of  Kilauea 44 

The  largest  cauldron  of  molten  rock  on  earth 44 

A  river  of  rock  pouring  out  into  the  sea 45 

Whirling  eddies  of  lava  undermining  frozen  lava  projections    .     .  45 

Where  the  tides  turn  to  stone 48 

A  blizzard  of  fuming  heat 48 

The  lake  of  spouting  molten  lava 49 

A  corner  of  Suva,  Fiji 64 

Food  for  a  day's  gossip ,     .  64 

The  long  and  the  short  of  it 65 

A  Hindu  patriarch 65 

The  scowl  indicates  a  complex 68 

Instructor  of  the  Fijian  constabulary 68 

A  Fijian  Main  Street 69 

Little  Fijians , .  69 

One  of  the  most  gifted  of  Fijian  chiefs 76 

Cacarini  (Katherine),  the  chief's  daughter 76 

jdii 


xiv  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PAGH 

Fijians  dance  from  the  hip  up 77 

A  Fijian  wedding 77 

The  street  along  the  waterfront  of  Apia,  Samoa 96 

I  thought  the  village  back  of  Apia,  Samoa,  was  deserted,  but  it 

was  only  the  noon  hour 96 

Tattooing  of  the  legs  is  an  essential  in  Samoa 97 

Contact  with  California  created  this  combination  of  scowl,  brace- 
lets and  boy's  boots — but  Fulaanu  beside  her  was  uncorruptible  97 

Dunedin,  New  Zealand 112 

Bridges  are  still  luxuries  in  many  places  in  New  Zealand     .     .  112 

The  fiords  and  sounds  of  New  Zealand 113 

Lake  Wanaka,  New  Zealand 113 

The  S.  S.  Aurora 128 

Mount  Cook  of  the  New  Zealand  Alps  in  summer    .....  128 

Circular  quay,  Sydney,  Australia 129 

Monument  to  Captain  Cook 129 

One  of  the  oldest  Australian  residences  is  now  a  public  domain    .  144 

The  interior  of  a  wealthy  sheep  station  owner's  home  in  Melbourne  144 

Australian  blacks  in  their  native  element 145 

An  Australian  black  in  Melbourne 145 

Filipino  lighters  drowsing  in  the  evening  shadows 160 

The  docile  water  buffalo  is  used  to  walking  in  mud     ....  160 

One  can  throw  a  brick  and  hit  seven  cathedrals  in  Manila     .     .  161 

Cool  and  silent  are  the  mossy  streets  of  the  walled  city  of  Manila  161 

In  China  drinking-water,  soap-suds,  soup  and  sewers  all  find  their 

source  in  the  same  stream 176 

Shanghai  youngsters  putting  their  heads  together  to  make  us  out  176 

This  old  woman  is  laying  down  the  law  to  the  wild  young  things 

of  China 177 

China  could  turn  these  mud  houses  into  palaces  if  she  wished — 

she  is  rich  enough 177 

Fujiyama 192 

Sea,  earth  and  sky 193 

This  Hindu  has  usurped  the  job  of  the  chieftains'  daughters    .     .  224 

An  Indian  coolie  village 224 

A  Maori  Haka  in  New  Zealand 225 

A  Maori  canoe  hurdling  race 225 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTBATIONS  xv 

PACING  PAGE 

Three  views  of  a  Maori  woman 240 

A  group  of  whites  and  half-castes  in  Samoa 241 

A  ship-load  of  "picture-brides"  arriving  at  Seattle     ....  241 

A  Maori  woman  with  her  children <     .     .  241 

Beauty  is  more  than  skin-deep 256 

A  half-caste  Fijian  maiden 257 

A  full-blooded  Fijian  maiden 257 

Fijian   village 272 

Little  fish  went  to  this  market 272 

Good  luck  must  attend  these  traders  at  the  doors  of  the  cathedrals 

in  Manila -.     .     ...     .  273 

A  Fijian  bazar  is  a  red  letter  day 273 

The  mountains  are  called  the  Remarkables 284 

The  Blue  Mountains  of  Australia 284 

Australia  denuding  herself 285 

Australia  is  not  all  desert  and  plain 288 

People  are  small  amidst  Australia's  giant  tree  ferns     ....  289 

Japan's  first  reaction  to  foreign  influence 304 

Second  stage  in  Westernization 304 

Third  stage  in  Westernization 305 

Fourth  stage  in  Westernization 305 

Lord  Lansdowne  and  Baron  Tadasu  Hayashi 352 

Prince  Ito 352 

Dr.  Sun  Yat-Sen 352 

Thomas  W.  Lamont 353 

Wellington  Koo 353 

Yukio  Osaki,  M.P.  and  Ex-Minister  of  Justice 353 


BOOK  ONE 
HISTORICAL  AND  TRAVEL  MATERIAL 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  HEAET  OF  THE  PACIFIC 

The  First  Side  of  The  Triangle 

1 

.  .  .  stared  at  the  Pacific — and  all  his  men 
Looked  at  each  other  with  a  wild  surmise — 
Silent,  upon  a  peak  in  Darien. 

EXACTLY  four  centuries  after  the  event  immortal- 
ized by  Keats,  I  outstripped  Balboa 's  most  fantastic 
dreams  by  setting  out  upon  the  Pacific  and  traversing 
the  length  and  breadth  of  it.  ''It  is  a  sight/'  we  are 
told,  "in  beholding  which  for  the  first  time  any  man 
would  wish  to  be  alone. "  I  was.  But  whereas  Balboa's 
desires  were  accomplished  in  having  obtained  sight  of 
the  Pacific,  that  achievement  only  whetted  mine.  He 
said: 

You  see  here,  gentlemen  and  children  mine,  how  our  desires  are 
being  accomplished,  and  the  end  of  our  labors.  Of  that  we  ought  to 
be  certain,  for,  as  it  has  turned  out  true  what  King  Comogre's  son  told 
of  this  sea  to  us,  who  never  thought  to  see  it,  so  I  hold  for  certain 
that  what  he  told  us  of  there  being  incomparable  treasures  in  it  will 
be  fulfilled.  God  and  His  blessed  Mother  who  have  assisted  us,  so 
that  we  should  arrive  here  and  behold  this  sea,  will  favor  us  that  we 
may  enjoy  all  that  there  is  in  it. 

The  story  of  how  far  he  was  so  assisted  is  part  of  the 
tale  of  this  book,  for  in  all  the  wanderings  which  are 
the  substance  of  my  accomplishment  I  can  recall  having 
met  with  but  a  half-dozen  of  Balboa's  kinsmen.  Instead 
there  are  streaming  backward  and  forward  across  the 
Pacific  descendants  of  men  Balboa  hated  and  of  others  of 
whom  he  knew  nothing. 


4  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

Balboa  was  the  first  to  see  the  ocean.  He  had  left 
his  men  behind  just  as  they  were  about  to  reach  the  peak 
from  which  he  viewed  it.  But  he  was  not  the  first  to  step 
upon  its  shores.  He  sent  some  of  his  men  down,  and 
of  them  one,  Alonso  Martin,  was  the  first  to  have 
that  pleasure.  Martin  dipped  his  sword  dramatically 
into  the  brine  and  took  possession  of  it  all  as  far  as  his 
mind 's  eye  could  reach.  Yet  to  none  of  the  men  was  this 
vast  hidden  world  more  than  a  vision  and  a  hope,  and 
the  accidental  name  with  which  Magellan  later  christened 
it  seems,  by  virtue  of  the  motives  of  gain  which  domi- 
nated these  adventurers,  anything  but  descriptive.  To  be 
pacific  was  not  the  way  of  the  kings  of  Castile;  nor,  sad 
to  say,  is  it  the  way  of  most  of  their  followers. 

What  was  it  that  Balboa  took  possession  of  in  the 
name  of  his  Castilian  kings  I  Bather  a  courageous  gam- 
ble, to  say  the  least.  The  dramatic  and  fictional  possi- 
bilities of  such  wholesale  acquisition  are  illimitable.  In 
the  mid-Pacific  were  a  million  or  more  savage  cannibals ; 
in  the  far-Pacific,  races  with  civilizations  superior  to  his 
own.  At  that  very  time  China  was  extending  the  Great 
Wall  and  keeping  in  repair  the  Grand  Canal  which  had 
been  built  before  Balboa's  kings  were  chiefs.  Japan 
was  already  a  nation  with  arts  and  crafts,  and  a  social 
state  sufficiently  developed  to  be  an  aggressive  influence 
in  the  Oriental  world,  making  inroads  on  Korea  through 
piracy.  Korea  was  powerful  enough  to  force  Japan  to 
make  amends.  Four  years  after  Balboa's  discovery  the 
Portuguese  arrived  in  Canton  and  opened  China  for  the 
first  time  to  the  European  world.  The  Dutch  were  begin- 
ning to  think  of  Java.  It  was  hardly  Balboa's  plan  to 
make  of  all  these  a  little  gift  for  his  king :  his  act  was  but 
the  customary  flourish  of  discoverers  in  those  days.  Men 
who  loved  romance  more  than  they  loved  reality  were 
ready  to  wander  over  the  unknown  seas  and  rake  in  their 
discoveries  for  hire.  Balboa,  Magellan,  Drake,  roamed 
the  seas  out  of  sheer  love  of  wind  and  sail.  Many  a  man 


THE  HEART  OF  THE  PACIFIC  5 

set  forth  in  search  of  treasure  never  to  be  heard  from 
again;  some  only  to  have  their  passage  guessed  by  vir- 
tue of  the  signs  of  white  blood  in  the  faces  of  some  of 
the  natives.  For  two  hundred  years  haphazard  discov- 
eries and  national  jealousies  confused  rather  than  en- 
lightened the  European  world.  But  late  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  after  a  considerable  lessening  of  interest  in 
exploration,  Captain  James  Cook  began  that  memorable 
series  of  voyages  which  added  more  definite  knowledge  to 
the  geographical  and  racial  make-up  of  the  South  Seas 
than  nearly  all  the  other  explorers  put  together.  The 
growth  of  the  scientific  spirit  and  the  improvement  in 
navigation  gave  him  the  necessary  impetus.  Imbued 
with  scientific  interest,  he  went  to  observe  the  transit  of 
Venus  and  to  make  close  researches  in  the  geography  of 
the  Pacific.  But  to  George  Vancouver  falls  the  praise 
due  to  a  constructive  interest  in  the  people  whose  lands 
he  uncovered.  Wherever  he  went  he  left  fruits  and 
domestic  animals  which  contributed  much  to  the  happi- 
ness of  the  primitives,  and  probably  laid  the  foundation 
for  the  future  colonization  of  these  scattered  islands  by 
Europeans. 

Backward  and  forward  across  the  Pacific  through  four 
centuries  have  moved  the  makers  of  this  new  Atlantis. 
First  from  round  Cape  Horn,  steering  for  the  setting 
sun,  then  from  the  Australian  continent  to  the  regions 
of  Alaska,  these  shuttles  of  the  ages  have  woven  their 
fabric  of  the  nations.  Now  the  problem  is,  what  is  going 
to  be  done  with  it? 

I  suppose  I  was  really  no  worse  than  most  people  in 
the  matter  of  geography  when  I  set  forth  on  my  ven- 
ture. Though  the  Pacific  had  lain  at  my  feet  for  two 
years,  I  seem  to  have  had  no  definite  notions  of  the  ''in- 
comparable treasures"  that  lay  therein.  Japan  was 
stored  away  in  my  mind  as  something  to  play  with. 
Typee,  the  cannibal  Marquesas — ah!  there  was  some- 
thing real  and  vigorous !  Then  the  South  Sea  maidens ! 


6  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

Ideal  labor  conditions  in  New  Zealand!  Australia  was 
Botany  Bay ;  the  Philippines,  the  water  cure.  Confucius 
was  confusion  to  me,  but  Lao-tsze,  the  great  sage  of 
China — in  his  philosophy  I  had  found  a  meeting-ground 
for  East  and  West. 

But  I  was  sizzling  with  curiosity.  I  wanted  to  bring 
within  my  own  range  of  experience  that  "unplumbed, 
salt  estranging  sea"  with  its  area  of  seventy  million 
square  miles,  equivalent  to  ''three  Atlantics,  seventy 
Mediterraneans,"  and — aside  from  the  hundreds  of  mil- 
lions of  people  round  its  shore — the  seventy-odd  mil- 
lions within  its  bosom.  Yet  of  the  myths,  the  beliefs, 
the  aspirations  of  these  peoples,  even  the  most  knowing 
gave  contradictory  accounts,  and  curiosity  was  perforce 
my  compass. 


Something  in  a  voyage  westward  across  the  Pacific 
gives  one  the  sense  of  a  great  reunion;  it  is  not  a  per- 
sonal experience,  but  an  historic  sensation.  One  may 
have  few  incidents  to  relate,  there  may  be  only  an  occa- 
sional squall.  But  in  place  of  events  is  an  abstraction 
from  world  strife,  a  heading  for  the  beginning  of  a  cycle 
of  existence — for  Asia,  the  birthplace  of  the  human 
race.  The  feeling  is  that  of  one  making  a  tour  of  the 
universe  which  has  lasted  ten  thousand  centuries  and  is 
but  at  the  moment  nearing  completion.  For  eons  the 
movement  has  been  a  westward  one,  Kaces  have  suc- 
cumbed to  races  in  this  westward  reach  for  room.  Pur- 
suing the  retreating  glaciers,  mankind  snatched  up  each 
inch  of  land  released,  rushing  wildly  outward.  After 
the  birth  of  man  there  was  a  split,  in  which  some  men 
went  westward  and  became  Europeans,  some  eastward 
and  became  Asiatics.  The  Amerindians  were  the  kick  of 
that  human  explosion  eastward  which  occurred  some 
time  during  the  Wurm  ice  age. 

One  cannot  grasp  the  significance  of  the  Pacific  who 


THE  HEART  OF  THE  PACIFIC  7 

crosses  it  too  swiftly.  Every  mapped-out  route,  every 
guide-book  must  be  laid  aside,  and  schedules  must  cease 
to  count.  With  half  a  world  of  water  to  traverse,  its 
immensity  becomes  a  reality  only  when  one  permits  one- 
self to  be  wayward,  with  every  whim  a  goal. 

A  fellow-passenger  said  to  me,  "My  boss  has  given 
me  two  weeks'  vacation." 

4 'Mine  has  given  me  a  lifetime,"  I  answered. 

In  that  mood  I  watched  the  Lurline  push  its  way  into 
the  San  Francisco  fogs  and  out  through  the  fog-choked 
Golden  Gate.  The  fogs  stayed  with  us  a  space  beyond 
and  were  gone,  and  the  wide  ocean  lay  in  every  direction 
roundabout  us. 

I  was  bound  for  Japan  by  relays.  Unable  to  secure 
through  passage  to  the  Land  of  the  Rising  Sun,  I  did  the 
next  best  thing  and  booked  for  Honolulu.  There  I 
planned  to  wait  for  some  steamer  with  an  unused  berth 
that  would  take  me  to  Kyoto,  Japan,  in  time  to  attend  the 
coronation  of  the  Tenno,  the  crownless  Emperor.  After 
all,  Honolulu  was  not  such  an  unfavorable  spot  in  which 
to  prepare  my  soul  for  the  august  sight  of  emperor- 
worship  on  a  grand  scale,  I  thought. 

And  at  last  I  was  out  upon  the  bosom  of  the  Pacific, 
sailing  without  time  limit  or  fixed  plan,  sailing  where 
did  Cook  and  Drake  and  Vancouver,  and  knowing  virtu- 
ally as  little  of  what  was  about  me  as  did  they.  Our 
ship  became  the  axis  round  which  wheeled  the  universe, 
and  progress  "a  succession  of  days  which  is  like  one 
day."  We  went  on  and  on,  and  still  the  circle  was 
true.  We  moved,  yet  altered  nothing.  When  the  sky 
was  overcast,  the  ocean  paled  in  sympathy ;  when  it  was 
bright,  the  whitecapped,  cool  blue  surface  of  the  sea 
abandoned  itself  to  the  light.  At  night  the  cleavage  be- 
tween sea  and  sky  was  lost.  Then  we  lost  distance,  alti- 
tude, depth,  and  even  speed.  All  became  illusive — a  time 
for  strong  reason. 

Then  came  a  storm.   ,The  vast  disk,  the  never-shifting 


8  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

circle  shrank  in  the  gathering  mist.  From  the  prow  of 
the  ship,  where  I  loved  most  to  be,  the  world  became 
more  lonely.  The  iron  nose  of  the  vessel  burrowed  into 
the  blue-green  water,  thrusting  it  back  out  of  the  way, 
curling  it  over  upon  a  volume  of  wind  which  struggled 
noisily  for  release.  The  blue  became  deeper,  the 
strangled  air  assumed  a  thick  gray  color  and  emerged 
in  a  fit  of  sputtering  querulousness.  But  the  ship  lunged 
on,  as  unperturbed  as  the  Bhodistava  before  Mara,  the 
Evil  One,  sure  that  he  was  becoming  Buddha. 

We  were  dipping  southward  and  soon  tasted  the  full 
flavor  of  the  luscious  tropical  air.  The  ship  never  more 
than  swayed  with  the  swells.  During  the  days  that  fol- 
lowed there  was  never  more  than  the  most  elemental 
squall.  The  nights  were  as  clear  and  balmy  as  the  days. 
For  seven  days  we  danced  and  made  merry  to  Hawaiian 
melodies  thrummed  by  an  Hawaiian  orchestra,  or 
screeched  by  an  American  talking-machine,  or  hammered 
by  a  piano-player.  The  warm  air  began  to  play  the  devil 
with  our  feelings. 

Thus  seven  days  passed.  I  had  taken  to  sleeping  out 
on  deck,  under  the  open  sky.  The  moon  was  brilliant, 
the  sea  as  smooth  as  a  pond.  I  was  awakened  by  whis- 
pered conversation  at  five  o'clock  of  that  last  day  and 
found  a  group  of  women  huddling  close  on  the  forward 
deck.  Their  hair  was  streaming  down  their  backs,  their 
feet  were  bare,  and  their  bodies  wrapped  in  loose  kimo- 
nos. Some  of  the  officers  were  pointing  to  the  southwest- 
ern horizon,  where  a  barely  perceptible  streak  of  smoke 
was  rising  over  the  rim  of  the  sea.  It  was  from  Kilauea, 
the  volcano  on  the  island  of  Hawaii,  two  hundred  miles 
away. 

The  air  was  fresh  and  balmy  as  on  the  day  the  earth 
was  born.  Rolling  cumulous  clouds  sought  to  postpone 
the  day  by  retarding  the  rising  sun.  Lighthouse  lights 
blinked  their  warnings.  Molokai,  the  leper  island, 
emerged  from  the  darkness.  A  blaze  of  sunlight  broke 


THE  HEART  OF  THE  PACIFIC  9 

through  the  clouds  and  day  was  in  full  swing.  And  as  we 
neared  the  island  of  Oahu,  a  full-masted  wind-jammer, 
every  strip  of  sail  spread  to  the  breeze,  came  gliding 
toward  us  from  Honolulu. 

By  noon  we  were  in  the  open  harbor, — a  fan-spread 
of  still  water.  The  Lurline  glided  on  and  turned  to  the 
right  and  we  were  before  the  little  city  of  Honolulu. 
I  can  still  see  the  young  captain  on  the  bridge,  pacing 
from  left  to  right,  watching  the  water,  issuing  quiet  direc- 
tions to  the  sailor  who  transmitted  them,  by  indicator, 
to  the  engine-room.  We  edged  up  to  the  piers  amid  a 
profusion  of  greetings  from  shore  and  appeals  for  coins 
from  brown-skinned  youngsters  who  could  a  moment 
later  be  seen  chasing  them  in  the  water  far  below  the 
surface. 

This,  then,  is  progress.  In  1778,  Captain  Cook  was 
murdered  by  these  islanders.  To-day  they  " grovel"  in 
the  seas  for  petty  cash.  One  hundred  and  forty  years ! 
Seven  days ! 


But  Hawaii  was  only  my  half-way  house.  I  was  still 
reaching  out  for  Japan.  According  to  the  advice  of 
steamship  agencies  I  might  have  waited  seven  years 
before  any  opportunity  for  getting  there  would  come 
my  way.  At  twelve  o'clock  one  day  I  learned  that  the 
Niagara  was  in  port.  She  was  to  sail  for  the  Antipodes 
at  two.  By  two  I  was  one  of  her  passengers.  Hadn't 
"my  boss"  given  me  a  lifetime's  vacation? 

The  world  before  me  was  an  unknown  quantity,  as  it 
doubtless  is  to  at  least  all  but  one  in  a  million  of  the 
inhabitants  of  our  globe.  My  ticket  said  Sydney,  Aus- 
tralia. How  long  would  it  take  us  ?  Two  weeks  f  What 
should  we  see  en  route?  Two  worlds?  Here,  in  one  sin- 
gle journey  I  should  cut  a  straight  line  across  the  routes 
of  Magellan,  Drake,  Cook,  and  into  those  of  Tasman, — 
all  the  great  navigators  of  the  last  four  hundred  years. 


10  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

Here,  then,  I  was  to  trace  the  steps  of  Melville,  of  Steven- 
son, of  Jack  London, — largely  with  the  personal  recom- 
mendations of  Jack, — and  of  one  then  still  unfamed, 
Frederick  O'Brien.  All  the  courage  in  the  face  of  the 
unknown,  all  the  conflicts  between  the  world  civilizations 
in  their  various  stages  of  development,  all  the  dreams  of 
romance,  of  future  welfare  and  achievement,  would  un- 
fold in  my  progress  southward  and  fall  into  two  much- 
talked-of  and  little-understood  divisions — East  and 
West.  I  was  to  discover  for  myself  what  it  was  that 
Balboa  and  his  like  had  taken  possession  of  in  their  gran- 
diloquent fashion  and  were  ready  to  defend  against  all 
comers.  Yet  the  flag  at  the  mast  was  not  Balboa's  flag, 
nor  Tasman  's,  and  the  passengers  among  whom  fate  had 
wheeled  me  were,  with  one  exception,  neither  Spanish 
nor  Dutch,  but  British.  As  long  as  I  moved  from  San 
Francisco  westward  and  as  long  as  I  remained  in  Hono- 
lulu, I  was,  as  far  as  customs  and  people  were  concerned, 
in  America.  But  from  the  moment  I  considered  striking 
off  diagonally  across  the  South  Seas  in  the  direction  of 
the  Antarctic  I  was  thrown  among  Britons.  The  clerk  in 
the  steamship  office  was  Canadian,  the  steamer  was 
British,  the  passengers  were  British,  and  the  cool,  casual 
way  in  which  the  Niagara  kicked  herself  off  from  the  pier 
and  slipped  out  into  the  harbor  was  confirmation  of  a 
certain  cleavage.  For  there  was  none  of  the  gaiety  which 
accompanies  the  arrival  and  departure  of  American 
vessels, — no  music,  no  serpentines,  no  cheering.  We 
just  took  to  our  screws  and  the  open  sea  as  though  glad 
to  get  away  from  an  uncordial  *  *  week-end. ' '  This  was  a 
British  liner  that  was  to  cut  across  the  equator,  to  climb 
over  the  vast  ridge  of  earth  and  dip  down  into  the  Antip- 
odes. We  were  to  leave  America  far  behind.  Hencefor- 
ward, with  but  the  single  exception  of  tiny  Pago  Pago, 
Samoa,  we  could  not  enter  an  American  owned  port, — and 
on  this  route  would  miss  even  that  one.  And  now  that 
mandates  have  become  the  vogue,  there  is  in  all  that  world 


THE  HEART  OF  THE  PACIFIC  11 

of  water  hardly  an  important  spot  that  does  not  fly  the 
Union  Jack.  The  sense  of  private  ownership  in  all  that 
could  be  surveyed  gave  to  the  bearing  of  the  passengers 
an  air  of  dignity  which  was  not  always  latent  in  the  in- 
dividual. 

Meanwhile  the  ship  pressed  steadily  on,  coldly  indiffer- 
ent, fearless  and  emotionless.  We  were  nearing  the 
equator,  and  the  days  in  its  neighborhood  steeped  us  all 
in  drooping  feebleness.  Climate  gets  us  all,  ultimately. 
"We  forgot  one  another  beneath  the  heavy  weight  of 
nothingness  which  hangs  over  that  equatorial  world. 
Sleep  within  my  cabin  was  impossible,  so  I  had  the 
steward  bring  me  a  mattress  out  on  deck.  At  midnight 
a  heavy  wind  turned  the  air  suddenly  so  cold  that  I  had 
to  secure  a  blanket.  The  wind  howling  round  the  mast 
and  the  flapping  of  the  canvas  sounded  like  a  tragedy 
without  human  agency.  The  night  was  pitch-black  and 
the  blackness  was  intensified  by  intermittent  streaks  of 
lightning.  But  there  was  no  rain. 

It  was  Tuesday,  yet  the  next  day  was  Thursday. 
Where  Wednesday  went  I  have  never  been  able  to  find 
out.  We  had  arrived  at  the  point  in  the  Pacific  where 
one  day  swallows  up  another  and  leaves  none.  The 
European  world,  measuring  the  earth  from  its  own 
vantage-point,  had  allotted  no  day  for  the  mid-Pacific, 
so  that  instead  of  arriving  at  Suva,  Fiji,  in  proper 
sequence  of  time,  we  were  both  a  day  late  and  a  day 
ahead.  We  had  cut  across  the  180th  meridian,  where 
time  is  dovetailed. 

That  afternoon  we  sighted  land  for  the  first  time  in 
seven  days.  Alofa  Islands,  pale  blue,  smooth-edged,  were 
a  living  lie  to  reality.  A  peculiar  feeling  came  over  me 
in  passing  without  touching  terra  firma.  It  was  like  the 
longing  for  the  sun  after  days  and  days  of  gray,  the 
longing  for  rain  in  the  desert.  It  was  the  longing  for  the 
return  to  the  actualities  of  life  after  days  on  the  unva- 
riable  sea.  And  presently  I  was  in  Fiji,  and  the  Niagara 


12  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

sailed  on  without  me.  Once  again  I  changed  my  course 
to  wander  among  the  South  Seas  and  leave  Sydney  for 
the  future. 

Yet  even  on  land  he  who  has  been  brought  up  on  a  con- 
tinent cannot  escape  a  feeling  of  isolation,  the  conscious- 
ness of  being  completely  surrounded  by  water.  After 
you  have  had  the  deep  beneath  you  for  seven  days,  and 
again  seven  days,  you  begin  to  feel  that  even  the  islands 
are  but  floating  in  the  same  fluid.  The  fact  that  you  can- 
not go  anywhere  without  riding  the  waves,  and  that  it 
takes  two  whole  days  by  steamer  to  get  from  Fiji  to 
Samoa,  and  four  from  Fiji  to  New  Zealand,  and  then  four 
again  between  New  Zealand  and  Australia,  a  water-con- 
sciousness takes  possession  of  you,  and  the  islands  be- 
come mere  ledges  upon  which  you  rest  occasionally. 
Something  of  the  joy  of  being  a  bird  on  the  wing  is  the 
experience  of  the  traveler  in  the  Pacific  seas. 

Imagine,  then,  my  delight  and  surprise,  early  one 
morning  on  my  return  trip  from  Samoa  to  Fiji,  to  find 
the  Talune  sidling  up  to  an  unknown  isle  considerably 
off  our  course.  It  was,  we  were  told,  the  island  of  Niua- 
foou,  and  was  visited  every  month  or  so  to  deliver  and 
take  off  the  mails.  It  was  a  chill  morning.  Everything 
was  blue  with  morning  cold.  The  waves  dashed  in  des- 
peration against  the  cliffs.  Glad  was  I  that  we  were  not 
run  ashore,  for  I  have  never  yet  been  able  to  see  the 
virtue  in  ice-cold  sea-water.  Fancy  our  consternation 
when  down  slid  a  native,  head  first,  from  the  bluff  half 
a  mile  away  into  the  water,  as  we  slide  into  a  swimming- 
pool.  For  a  moment  he  was  lost  behind  the  tossing 
crests.  Then  we  saw  him  coming  slowly  toward  us,  rest- 
ing on  a  plank  and  paddling  with  his  free  hand,  seeming 
like  a  tremendous  water-spider.  Tied  to  a  stick  like  to  a 
mast  was  a  tightly  wrapped  bundle  of  mail.  The  Talune 
kept  swerving  like  an  impatient  horse,  waiting  for  the 
arrival  of  that  amphibian.  When  he  came  alongside  he 
dropped  the  little  bundle  into  a  bucket  let  down  to  him 


THE  HEAET  OF  THE  PACIFIC  13 

at  the  end  of  a  rope,  and  kicked  himself  away.  A  second 
man  arrived  with  a  packet, — the  parcels-post  man  of 
Muafoou.  A  third  came  merely  as  an  inspector.  Mean- 
while, on  the  bluff  the  whole  community  had  gathered 
for  the  irregular  lunar  event. 

Or,  days  later,  after  my  second  call  at  Fiji  as  the  ship 
pressed  steadily  on  toward  Auckland,  New  Zealand,  we 
passed  the  island  of  Mbenga  where  dwell  the  mystic  fire- 
walkers  so  vividly  portrayed  by  Basil  Thomson  in  his 
* '  South  Sea  Yarns. ' '  I  wished  that  I  had  had  a '  *  callous ' ' 
on  my  habits  in  cleanliness  to  protect  me  from  the  un- 
pleasantnesses of  the  vessel,  as  have  those  Fijian  fire- 
walkers  on  their  soles,  then  I  should  have  been  happier. 
Their  soles  are  half  an  inch  thick.  I  should  have  needed 
a  callous  at  least  two  inches  thick  to  endure  the  Talune 
more  than  the  six  days  it  took  us  to  get  from  Samoa  to 
Auckland. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  of  our  journey 
from  Suva,  Fiji,  we  passed  the  Great  Barrier  Island, 
which  stands  fifty  miles  from  Auckland.  We  crept  down 
the  Hauraki  Gulf,  passed  Little  Barrier  Island,  and 
entered  Waitemata  Harbor,  where  we  dropped  anchor, 
awaiting  the  doctor's  examination.  Just  from  the  trop- 
ics, I  was  taken  by  surprise  to  find  the  wind  biting  and 
chill  as  we  went  farther  south,  and  here  at  the  gates  of 
Auckland  the  coat  I  had  unnecessarily  carried  on  my  arm 
for  months  became  most  welcome.  Before  I  could  adjust 
myself  to  the  new  landing-place,  I  had  to  readjust  my 
mind  to  another  fact  which  had  never  been  any  vital 
part  of  my  psychology, — that  henceforth  the  farther 
south  I  should  go  the  colder  it  would  feel,  and  that  though 
it  was  the  sixth  of  November,  the  longer  I  remained  the 
warmer  it  would  become.  In  the  presence  of  such  phe- 
nomena, losing  a  thirteenth  day  of  one's  month  while 
crossing  the  180th  meridian  was  a  commonplace.  The 
habits  of  a  short  lifetime  told  me  to  put  on  my  coat,  for 
winter  was  coming.  But  here  I  had  come  amongst  queer 


14  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

New  Zealanders  who  told  me  to  unbutton  it,  even  to  shed 
it,  for  spring,  they  assured  me,  was  not  far  behind. 

And  then  for  the  first  time  in  months  I  felt  the  spirit 
of  the  landlubber  work  its  way  into  my  consciousness 
again.  I  had  cut  a  diagonal  line  of  6,000  miles  across  a 
mysterious,  immeasurable  sea,  and  my  reason,  my  heart 
and  my  body  longed  for  respite  from  its  benumbing  in- 
fluence. I  had  seen  enough  to  last  me  a  long  time.  I 
fairly  ached  for  retirement  inland,  for  sight  of  a  cool, 
still  lake,  for  contact  with  snow-capped  mountain  peaks. 
More  than  all  else,  I  yearned  for  the  cold,  for  the  scent  of 
snow,  for  the  snug  satisfaction  of  self-generated  warmth. 
My  soul  and  my  body  seemed  seared  and  scorched  by  the 
blazing  tropical  sun  under  the  wide,  unsheltered  seas. 
Later,  when  I  should  be  "well"  again,  I  thought,  I  would 
risk  the  climb  up  over  the  equator,  the  curve  of  the  world 
that  lies  so  close  to  the  sun. 

And  now  that  I  was  settled  I  had  time  to  reflect  on  all 
I  had  seen.  I  had  cut  a  diagonal  line  through  the  heart  of 
the  Pacific,  and  had  seen  in  succession  the  various  types 
of  native  races — the  Hawaiians,  the  Fijians,  the  Samoans 
— while  all  about  me  were  the  Maories.  So  I  reviewed 
and  classified  my  memories  before  I  started  north  on  an- 
other diagonal  course  which  led  me  among  the  trans- 
planted white  peoples  of  Australia  and  Asia.  Yet  one 
question  preceded  all  others :  whence  came  these  Pacific 
peoples  and  when?  The  answer  to  that  must  be  given 
before  specific  descriptions  of  the  South  Sea  Islanders 
can  be  clear. 


CHAPTEE  II 

THE  MYSTERY  OF  MYSTERIES 


NOT  even  the  speed  of  the  fastest  steamer  afloat  can 
transport  the  white  man  from  his  sky-scraper  and 
subway  civilization  over  the  hump  of  the  earth  and  down 
into  the  South  Seas  without  his  undergoing  a  psycho- 
logical metamorphosis  that  is  enchanting.  He  cannot 
take  his  hard-and-fast  materialistic  illusions  along  with 
him.  Were  he  a  passenger  on  the  magic  carpet  itself, 
and  both  time  and  space  eliminated,  the  instant  he  found 
himself  among  the  tawny  ones  he  would  forget  enough 
of  square  streets  and  square  buildings,  square  meals  and 
square  deals,  to  become  another  person.  Upon  that  cool 
dewdrop  of  the  universe,  the  Pacific,  the  giant  steamer 
chugs  one  rhythmically  to  rest  and  one  dreams  as  only 
one  in  a  new  life  can  dream,  without  being  disturbed  by 
past  or  future. 

One  slumbers  through  this  adolescent  experience  with 
the  smile  and  the  conceit  of  youth.  At  last  one  arrives. 
The  enormous  ship,  upon  whose  deck  have  shuffled  the 
games  of  children  too  busy  to  play,  slips  away  from  the 
pier  and  is  swallowed  up  in  the  evening  twilight.  Left 
thus  detached  from  iron  and  certainty,  one  wonders  what 
would  happen  if  there  never  should  be  iron  and  certainty 
again  in  life.  What  if  that  ship  should  never  return, 
nor  any  other,  and  the  months  and  years  should  lose 
track  of  themselves,  and  memory  become  feeble  as  to 
facts  and  fumble  about  in  hyperbolic  aspirations  ?  What 
if  the  actualities  that  knotted  and  gnarled  one's  emo- 
tions, or  flattened  them  out  in  precise  conventions,  should 

15 


16  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

cease  to  affect  one's  daily  doings?  What  if,  for  you, 
never  again  were  there  to  be  factories  and  dimensions  of 
purse,  or  ambitions  that  ramble  about  in  theories  and 
ethics,  but  only  the  need  of  filling  one's  being  with  food 
and  converting  it  into  energy  for  the  further  procuring 
of  food,  and  the  satisfaction  of  impulses  that  lead  only 
to  the  further  vent  of  impulse, — and  in  that  way  a  thou- 
sand years  went  by  ?  What  would  the  white  man  be  when 
the  lure  of  adventure  and  discovery  suddenly  revealed 
him  to  a  world  phenomenally  different  from  the  one  he 
left  behind  in  the  bourn  of  his  forgotten  past? 

As  I  let  myself  loose  from  such  moorings  as  still  held 
me  in  touch  with  my  world,  the  wonder  grew  by  inver- 
sion. When  the  Niagara,  wingless  dinosaur  of  the  deep, 
slid  out  into  the  lagoon  beyond,  I  felt  overcome  with  a 
sense  of  drooping  loneliness,  like  one  going  off  into  a 
trance,  like  one  for  whom  amazement  is  too  intoxicating. 

It  had  not  been  that  way  in  Hawaii,  for  there  already 
the  grip  of  the  girder  has  made  rigid  the  life  of  nature 
and  the  people.  But  down  beneath  the  line  one  could  still 
look  over  the  corrugated  iron  roofs  of  sheds  and  forget. 
Everywhere  in  the  Fiji  or  the  Samoan  islands  something 
of  antiquity  cools  one's  senses  with  unheard  question- 
ings. Instantly  one  wants  to  know  how  it  happens  that 
these  people  came  to  be  here,  what  accident  or  lure  of 
paleolithic  life  led  them  into  this  isolation.  One  cannot 
get  away  from  the  feeling — however  far  inland  one  may 
go — that  the  outer  casings  of  this  little  lump  of  solid 
earth  beneath  us  is  a  fluent  sea,  a  sea  endless  to  unaided 
longing.  Homesickness  never  was  like  that,  for  ordinary 
homesickness  is  too  immediate,  too  personal.  But  this 
longing  for  contact  which  comes  over  one  in  the  mid- 
Pacific  islands  is  universal;  it  is  a  sudden  consciousness 
of  eternity,  and  of  the  atom.  One  begins  to  conceive  of 
days  and  events  and  conditions  as  absolutely  incompat- 
ible with  former  experience.  One's  mind  is  set  aglow 
with  inquiry,  and  over  and  over  again,  as  one  looks  into 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  MYSTEEIES  17 

the  face  of  some  shy  native  or  some  spoiled  flapper,  one 
wonders  whence  and  how.  And  a  slight  fear :  what  if  I, 
too,  were  now  unable  ever  to  return,  should  I  soon  revert 
to  these  customs,  to  the  feeling  of  distance  between  men 
and  women,  to  the  nakedness,  not  so  much  of  body  as  of 
mind? 

That  was  what  happened  to  Tahiti,  to  Maoriland,  to 
Hawaii,  to  the  popping  peaks  of  illusive  worlds  which  to 
ante-medieval  isolated  Europe  could  not  exist  because  it 
did  not  know  of  them.  For  thousands  of  years  these 
innumerable  islands  in  the  Pacific  had  been  the  habita- 
tion of  passionate  men,  of  men  who  had  come  out  in 
their  vessels  from  over  Kim's  way  with  decks  that  car- 
ried a  hundred  or  more  persons ;  persons  who  doubtless 
also  entertained  themselves  with  games  because  too  busy 
to  play ;  persons  with  hopes  and  aspirations.  A  thousand 
and  more  years  ago  the  present  inhabitants  of  Polynesia 
may  have  dreamed  of  rearing  a  new  India,  a  wider  Cau- 
casia, just  as  the  Pilgrims  and  the  persecuted  of  Europe 
dreamed,  or  the  ambitious  Englanders  of  New  Zealand. 
Welcomed  here  and  ejected  there,  they  passed  on  and 
on  and  on,  as  far  as  Samoa  and  Tahiti.  And  slowly  the 
film  of  forgetfulness  fixed  their  experiences.  The  big 
ships  and  the  giant  canoes  rotted  in  the  harbors.  They 
had  come  to  stay.  The  sun  was  burning  their  bridges 
behind  them.  What  need  for  means  of  going  farther? 
Eden  had  been  found.  And  the  soft,  sweet  flesh  of  young 
maidens  began,  generation  after  generation,  to  be  cov- 
ered with  the  tattooings  of  time,  the  records  of  the  num- 
ber of  times  the  race  had  been  reborn.  So,  while  the 
nakedness  of  youth  was  being  clothed,  mind  after  mind 
stored  up  unforgettable  tales  of  exploit  and  of  passion, 
till  fancy  sang  with  triumph  over  things  transitory,  and 
tawny  men  felt  that  never  would  they  have  to  wander 
more. 

Is  not  this  the  history  of  every  race  on  earth?  Has 
not  every  nation  gloated  over  its  antiquity  and  its  secu- 


18  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

rity?  Was  not  permanence  a  surety,  and  pride  the  father 
of  ease!  And  have  not  song  and  story  been  handed  down 
from  generation  to  generation,  or,  with  the  more  skilled 
and  the  more  proud  races,  been  graved  in  stone  or  wax  or 
wood?  And  have  not  the  more  mighty  and  the  more 
venturesome  come  over  the  pass,  or  over  the  crest  and 
invaded  and  conquered  and  changed? 

So  it  was  when  Polynesia  awoke  to  see  that  which  could 
only  be  a  god,  because  fashioned  in  the  form  of  its  own 
imaginings,  swept  by  its  gorgeous  sails  into  view, — the 
ship  of  Captain  Cook.  Thus  the  racial  memories  that 
had  lain  dormant  in  the  Polynesians  for  centuries  were 
revived  by  Europeans.  Narrative  renders  vividly  their 
surprise  and  wonder,  especially  on  seeing  the  vessel  girt 
in  iron  such  as  had  drifted  in  on  fragments  from  the 
unknown  wrecks  and  had  become  to  these  natives  more 
precious  than  gold. 

It  seems  to  me  that  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  helio- 
lithic  man  when  he  ventured  eastward  across  the  chain 
of  islands  which  links,  or  rather  separates,  Polynesia 
and  Melanesia  from  its  home  in  Asia,  he  must  have  felt 
just  as  Cook  and  Vancouver  and  Magellan  felt.  Bit  by 
bit  I  picked  up  those  outer  resemblances  which  give  to 
men  the  world  over  their  basic  brotherliness.  They  may 
hate  one  another  justly,  but  they  cannot  get  away  from 
that  fraternity.  And  they  generally  reveal  relationship 
when  they  least  expect  it. 

Thus,  as  we  kicked  our  way  up  the  smooth  waters  of 
the  Rewa  River,  Fiji,  in  a  launch  laden  with  black  faces 
and  proud  shocks  of  curly  hair,  mixed  with  sleek  people 
of  slightly  lighter-hued  India,  a  suggestion  of  the  origin 
of  these  people  came  to  me.  As  these  alien  Indians,  so 
must  have  come  these  native  negroids.  I  should  have 
felt  successful  in  my  method  of  inquiry,  hopeful  of  feel- 
ing my  way  into  a  solution  of  this  wondering,  had  not  an 
outrigger  canoe  dragged  itself  across  our  course  with  a 
dilapidated  sail  of  bark-cloth. 


THE  MYSTEEY  OF  MYSTEEIES  19 

"Where  did  they  learn  to  sail?"  I  asked  the  white 
skipper. 

"They  have  always  known  it,"  he  answered.  "But 
you  seldom  see  these  sails  nowadays." 

I  wanted  to  take  a  snap-shot  of  it,  but  the  lights  of 
evening,  as  those  of  tradition,  were  against  me,  and  we 
were  clipping  along  too  rapidly.  The  last  example  of  an 
art  which  brought  the  whole  race  eastward  was  being 
carelessly  retained. 

A  few  days  later  I  caught  another  glimpse  of  a  past 
that  was  working  my  sun-baked  brain  too  much.  We 
were  going  up  the  river  in  a  comfortable  launch,  some 
missionaries  and  I,  their  unknown  guest.  We  were  about 
twenty  or  thirty  miles  up  the  Eewa.  With  us  was  a 
young  native  who  spoke  English  rather  well.  I  plied 
him  with  questions,  but  his  shyness  and  reticence,  so 
characteristic  of  isolated  human  beings,  inhibited  him. 
At  last  he  spoke,  with  an  eye  to  my  reactions,  of  the  meth- 
ods of  warfare  along  the  palisades  of  the  river. 

"In  my  boyhood  days,"  he  said,  "nobody  knew  any- 
thing of  his  neighbor.  People  lived  just  a  mile  apart, 
but  you  white  people  were  not  much  stranger  to  us  than 
they  were  to  one  another.  There  was  constant  war.  We 
children  were  afraid  to  venture  very  far  from  our  vil- 
lage." 

"Has  that  always  been  the  way?" 

"I  suppose  so,  but  I  don't  know,"  and  that  was  all  I 
could  get  out  of  him.  Yet  it  has  not  always  been  so,  for 
nothing  is  always  so  among  people,  and  the  Melanesian- 
Fijians  in  many  cases  have  welcomed  and  received  among 
them  Samoans  and  Tongans,  races  distinctly  different 
from  them.  There  is  a  definite  separation,  however,  be- 
tween ourselves  and  the  Fijians  that  is  obvious  even  to 
the  casual  tourist,  and  affords  no  easy  solution  of  the 
whence  and  why. 

Not  so  among  the  Polynesians  as  in  Samoa,  where  one 
instantly  feels  at  home.  That  which  attracted  me  to  the 


20  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

Fijian  was  his  incompatibility,  his  unconscious  aloofness, 
his  detachment. 

There  is,  however,  not  much  greater  difference  between 
some  of  the  races  in  the  Pacific  and  the  white  men  than 
there  is  between  any  two  of  the  European  peoples  them- 
selves. There  is  less  difference  between  an  Hawaiian 
and  a  Maori,  though  they  are  separated  by  nearly  four 
thousand  miles  of  unbroken  sea,  than  there  is  between  an 
Englishman  and  a  Frenchman  with  only  a  narrow  chan- 
nel between  them.  In  the  Pacific,  the  chain  of  relation- 
ship between  races  from  New  Zealand  to  Hawaii  is  some- 
what similar  to  that  running  north  and  south  in  Europe. 
The  variation  becomes  similarly  more  pronounced  in  the 
latitudinal  direction.  In  other  words,  the  diversity  ex- 
isting between  European  and  Turk  is  something  akin  to 
that  between  Samoan  and  Fijian, — from  the  point  of 
view  of  appearances. 

Something  of  the  kinship  of  peoples  scattered  over  the 
millions  of  square  miles  of  Pacific  seas  becomes  evident, 
not  so  much  in  their  own  features  and  customs  as  in  the 
way  in  which  they  lend  themselves  to  fusion  with  the 
modern  incoming  nomads  of  the  West.  Something  of  the 
possible  migrations  said  to  have  taken  place  in  that  un- 
romantic  age  of  man  somewhere  back  in  Pleistocene  days 
may  be  grasped  from  the  streams  that  now  flow  in  and 
become  part  of  the  life  of  the  South  Pacific.  Scientists 
detect  in  the  Melanesian-Fijian  slight  traces  of  Aryan 
blood  without  being  definite  as  to  how  it  got  there.  When 
I  ran  into  a  little  fruit  shop  in  Suva,  just  before  sailing, 
to  taste  for  the  last  time  the  joys  of  mummy-apple,  I 
glimpsed  for  a  second  the  how.  For  the  proprietor  was 
a  stout,  gray-haired,  dark-complexioned  individual  from 
the  island  of  St.  Helena.  In  a  vivid  way  he  described  to 
me  the  tomb  of  Napoleon,  spicing  his  account  with  a  few 
incidents  of  the  emperor's  life  on  the  island.  Should 
no  great  flood  of  Europeans  come  to  dilute  the  present 
slight  infusions,  the  centuries  that  lie  in  waiting  will 


DIAMOND  HEAD,  NEAR  HONOLULU 

Once  a  volcano,  now  a  fortress 


THE   HULK  OF   THE   GERMAN   MAN-OF-WAR,   THE   ADLER 
Wrecked  in  the  hurricane  of  1889  at  Samoa 


AFTER  SEVEN   DAYS   OF  SEA— THIS  EMERGED 


HILO,    HAWAII 
An  oasis  in  the  desert  of  the  Pacific 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  MYSTERIES  21 

perhaps  augment  this  accidental  European  strain  into 
some  romantic  story.  In  a  thousand  years  it  would  not 
at  all  be  impossible  for  this  story  of  Napoleon  to  become 
part  of  Fijian  legend,  and  for  children  to  refer  to  that 
unknown  god  of  war  as  their  god  and  the  father  of  their 
ideals.  This  genial  islander  from  St.  Helena  will  puzzle 
anthropologists  and  afford  them  opportunities  for  con- 
jecture, fully  as  much  as  the  evidence  of  Aryan  and 
Iberian  races  in  Asia  and  the  islands  east  of  it  does 
to-day. 

Or  the  wail  of  the  Indian,  into  whose  shop  I  strayed 
to  get  out  of  the  sun,  at  the  downfall  of  "his"  empire, 
may  be  the  little  seed  of  thought  out  of  which  the  aspira- 
tions of  a  Fiji  reborn  will  spring. 


According  to  the  traditions  of  almost  every  race  on 
earth,  the  place  of  its  nativity  is  the  cradle  of  mankind. 
Nor  does  mere  accident  satisfy.  In  nearly  every  instance 
not  only  is  the  belief  extant  among  natives  that  their  race 
was  born  there,  but  that,  be  the  birthplace  island  or  con- 
tinent, it  came  into  existence  by  some  form  of  special 
creation  as  an  abiding-place  for  a  chosen  people.  The 
Japanese  kami,  Izanagi  and  Izanami,  were  commissioned 
by  the  other  gods  to  "make,  consolidate,  and  give  birth 
to  the  drifting  land."  "According  to  the  Samoan  cos- 
mogony, first  there  was  Leai,  nothing;  thence  sprung 
Nanamu,  fragrance;  then  Efuefu,  dust;  then  Iloa,  per- 
ceivable ;  then  Maua,  obtainable ;  then  Eleele,  earth ;  then 
Papatu,  high  rocks ;  then  Maataanoa,  small  stones ;  then 
Maunga,  mountains.  Then  Maunga  married  Malaeliua, 
or  changeable  meeting-place,  and  had  a  daughter  called 
Fasiefu,  piece  of  dust."  The  more  primitive  Melane- 
sians,  the  Fijians,  and  the  Australoids  are  less  definite  in 


22  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

their  conceptions  of  whence  they  came,  having  in  many 
cases  no  traditions  or  myths  to  offer. 

With  all  our  scientific  inquiry,  we  are  to-day  still  lost 
in  the  maze  of  probable  origins  of  various  races.  The 
birthplace  of  man  is  as  much  of  a  mystery  as  it  ever  was. 
Ninety  years  ago,  Darwin  said  of  the  South  Pacific: 
"  Hence,  both  in  space  and  time,  we  seem  to  be  brought 
somewhat  near  to  that  great  fact — that  mystery  of 
mysteries — the  first  appearance  of  new  beings  on  this 
earth."  And  in  1921  Boy  Chapman  Andrews  set  out 
upon  a  third  expedition  to  Mongolia  in  search  of  relics 
and  fossils  of  the  oldest  man.  He  writes : 

With  the  exception  of  the  Java  specimen,  all  fossil  human  fragments 
have  been  discovered  in  Europe  or  England.  Nevertheless,  the  leading 
scientists  of  the  day  believe  that  Asia  was  the  early  home  of  the  human 
race  and  that  whatever  light  may  be  thrown  upon  the  origin  of  man 
will  come  from  the  great  eentral  Asian  plateau  north  of  the  Himalaya 
Mountains. 

Thus  his  antiquity  will  doubtless  interest  man  to  his 
dying  day.  Slogans  epitomizing  the  spirit  of  races  fan 
the  flames  of  human  conflict.  Conflict  wears  down  the 
differences  between  them,  or  shatters  them  and  scatters 
them  to  the  whirling  winds.  Doubtless  the  records  which 
seem  to  us  so  lucid  and  so  permanent  will  vanish  from 
the  earth  in  the  next  half -million  years,  and  our  descend- 
ants will  mumble  in  terms  of  vague  tradition  expressions 
of  their  beginning.  Or  perhaps  their  linguistics  will 
make  ours  vulgar  and  primitive  by  comparison.  Pos- 
sibly, if  our  progress  and  development  are  not  impeded, 
the  hundreds  of  tongues  now  spoken  on  this  globe  will 
seem  childishly  incomplete,  and  in  their  stead  will  be 
one  extremely  simple  but  flexible  language  spoken  in 
every  islet  in  the  seas. 

What  our  present  world  will  seem  to  the  man  of  the 
future,  the  world  of  the  Pacific,  wreathed  in  races  of 
every  hue — Asia,  Australasia,  the  Americas — seems  to 
us  now.  In  the  wide  spaces  of  the  Pacific  we  have  several 
thousands  of  islands,  anchored  at  various  distances  from 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  MYSTERIES     23 

one  another  in  about  seventy  million  square  miles  of  sea. 
Grouped  with  a  healthy  regard  for  the  freedom  of  indi- 
vidual needs  there  are  enough  separate  races,  speaking 
separate  languages  and  abiding  by  separate  customs,  to 
make  the  many-colored  map  of  Europe  seem  one  primary 
hue  by  comparison.  Yet  all  the  romance  which  brightens 
the  pages  of  European  history  and  its  intake  of  Asiatic 
culture  is  ordinary  beside  the  mysterious  silence  that 
steeps  the  origin  and  age  of  the  cultures  of  the  Pacific. 
There,  beneath  the  heavy  curtain  of  unknown  antiquity, 
dwell  innumerable  people  who,  if  they  are  not  the  Adams 
and  Eves  of  creation,  have  wandered  very  little  from 
the  birthplace  of  the  human  race.  It  seems  as  though 
the  overflow  of  living  creatures  from  the  heart  of  Asia 
had  found  an  underground  channel  back  into  the  Garden 
of  Eden,  like  some  streamlet  lost  in  the  sands  of  the  sea- 
shore, but  worming  its  way  into  the  very  depths  below. 
Polynesia,  Micronesia,  Melanesia,  are  the  names  by 
which  we  know  them.  The  drawer  of  water,  as  he  lets 
his  bucket  down  to  the  farthest  reaches  of  the  wells  of 
antiquity,  finds  in  his  vessel  evidence  of  kinship  with 
races  now  covering  the  whole  of  Europe.  Romance  has 
it  that  the  Amerindians  are  descendants  of  the  Lost 
Tribes  of  Israel  and  Mormon  missionaries  are  carrying 
that  charm  among  the  Polynesians.  They  are  very  suc- 
cessful in  New  Zealand  among  the  Maories.  Like  a  great 
current  of  warm  water  in  the  sea,  the  Polynesian  races 
have  run  from  Hawaii  to  Samoa,  the  Marquesas,  Tahiti, 
and  Maoriland.  How  they  got  there  is  still  part  of  con- 
jecture. 

To  most  of  us,  the  South  Seas  mean  simply  cannibals 
and  naked  girls.  Dark  skins  and  giant  bodies  are  synony- 
mous with  Polynesians.  The  grouping  of  these  peoples 
into  Poly-Mela-Micronesian  has  some  scientific  meaning 
which,  if  not  esoteric  and  awe-inspiring,  slips  by  our 
consciousness  as  altogether  too  highbrow  to  deserve  con- 
sideration. Or  we  are  satisfied  with  pictures  such  as 


24  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

Melville  and  0  'Brien  have  given  us,  pictures  that  as  long 
as  the  world  is  young  will  thrill  us  as  do  those  of  King- 
lake  and  Marco  Polo.  But  those  of  us  who  have  gone 
beyond  our  boyhood  rhymes  of  ''Wild  man  from  Borneo 
just  come  to  town"  and  have  been  White  Shadows  our- 
selves, are  keenly  interested  in  the  whence  and  the  why 
of  these  people.  Can  it  be  that  Darwin  was  right?  Have 
we  approached  the  spot  whereon  man  made  his  first  ap- 
pearance on  the  earth?  Or  are  others  right  whose  sound- 
ings divulge  a  hidden  course  that  gives  these  people  a 
birthplace  ten  thousand  miles  away,  in  central  Asia?  Is 
it  that  all  the  people  of  the  world  were  first  made  men 
on  land  that  is  now  beneath  the  waters  of  the  Pacific, — 
men  who,  because  of  geological  changes,  fell  back  across 
Asia,  leaving  scattered  remnants  in  the  numerous  island 
peaks  now  standing  alone  in  that  sun-baked  world? 
"There  is  ground  for  the  belief,"  says  Griffith  Taylor,1 
"that  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  smaller  in  the  Pleistocene 
period,  being  reduced  by  a  belt  of  land  varying  in  width 
from  100  to  700  miles. ' '  Or  are  the  further  calculations 
more  accurate, — that  there  have  been  constant  migra- 
tions of  people  from  Asia? 

Slowly  scientists  are  groping  their  way  through  leg- 
end. No  one  who  has  been  among  the  South  Sea  people, 
and  those  of  the  western  Pacific  islands,  can  help  being 
impressed  with  certain  remarkable  likenesses  between 
them  and  European  people.  Present-day  anthropolo- 
gists are  at  variance  with  the  old  evolutionary  school 
which  believed  in  "a  general,  uniform  evolution  of  cul- 
ture in  which  all  parts  of  mankind  participated."  "At 
present,"  according  to  Franz  Boas,  "at  least  among  cer- 
tain groups  of  investigators  in  England  and  also  in 
Germany,  ethnological  research  is  based  on  the  concept 
of  migration  and  dissemination  rather  than  upon  that  of 
evolution."  In  connection  with  Polynesia  and  the  Pacific 
peoples,  it  seems  to  be  fairly  well  known  that  they  drifted 

1  Griffith  Taylor:  Geographical  Review,  January,  1912,  p.  61. 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  MYSTEEIES  25 

from  island  to  island  in  giant  canoes.  They  had  no  sails 
nor  compass,  but,  guided  by  stars  and  directed  by  the 
will  of  the  winds,  they  roved  the  high  seas  and  landed 
wherever  the  shores  were  hospitable.  During  ages  when 
Europe  dreaded  the  sea  and  hugged  the  land,  when  the 
European  universe  consisted  of  a  flat  table-like  earth  and 
a  dome-like  heaven  of  stars, — even  before  the  vikings 
ventured  on  their  wild  marauding  excursions,  the  Poly- 
nesians made  of  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Pacific  a 
highway  for  their  canoes.  "  Somewhat  before  this 
(450  A.D.)  one  bold  Polynesian  had  reached  polar  ice  in 
his  huge  war  canoe."1  Our  Amerindians  dared  the 
swiftest  rapids  in  their  frail  bark  canoes ;  but  what  was 
that  compared  with  the  courage  and  love  of  freedom 
which  sent  this  lone  Polynesian  out  upon  the  endless 
waters  of  the  Pacific?  Some  day  a  poet  will  give  him  his 
deserving  place  among  the  great  heroes. 

Dr.  Macmillan  Brown  tells  us  that  the  Easter  Islands 
were  once  the  center  of  a  great  Pacific  empire.  Here 
men  came  from  far  and  wide  to  pay  tribute  to  one  ruling 
monarch.  He  builded  himself  a  Venice  amid  the  coral 
reefs,  with  canals  walled  in  by  thirty  feet  of  stone.  Fear 
of  the  control  over  the  winds  which  this  monarch  was 
said  to  possess,  and  superstitious  dread  of  his  ire  brought 
the  vassal  islanders  to  him  with  their  choicest  pos- 
sessions, though  he  had  no  military  means  of  com- 
pelling respect.  This  monarch,  like  the  Pharaohs  who 
built  the  pyramids,  must  have  had  thousands  of  laborers 
to  have  been  able  to  cut,  shape,  and  build  the  giant  plat- 
forms of  stone  or  the  great  canals  which  are  referred  to 
as  the  Venice  of  the  Pacific.  It  must  have  taken  no  little 
engineering  skill  so  to  adjust  them  to  one  another  as  to 
require  no  mortar  to  keep  them  together.  In  the  Caro- 
line Islands,  now  under  Japanese  mandate,  there  still 
stand  remains  of  stone  buildings  of  a  forgotten  day's 
requirements. 

1  Griffith  Taylor:  Geographical  Review,  January,  1912,  p.  61. 


26  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

These  relics  of  unknown  days  make  it  reasonably  cer- 
tain that  after  having  been  "shot"  out  from  the  main- 
land, the  early  people  of  the  Pacific  reached  all  the  way 
across  to  the  island  of  Savaii,  in  the  Samoan  group,  and 
later  as  far  as  Tahiti.  Why  they  did  not  go  on  to  the 
Americas  is  hard  to  say.  Perhaps  the  virginity  of  the 
islands  and  the  congenial  climate  offered  these  artless 
savages  all  they  desired.  Beyond  were  cold  and  drudg- 
ery. Here,  though  labor  and  war  were  not  wanting,  still 
there  was  balmy  weather.  Probably  they  were  the  tail- 
end  of  the  great  migration  of  the  Wurm  ice  age.  More 
venturesome  than  most,  and  having  arrived  at  lands 
roomy  enough  for  their  small  numbers,  they  must  have 
called  themselves  blessed  in  that  much  good  luck  and 
decided  to  take  no  further  chances  with  the  generosity 
of  the  gods. 

Linguistic  and  ethnological  data  link  the  Polynesians  with  the 
Koreans,  Japanese,  Formosans,  Indonesians,  and  Javanese.  Legends 
and  genealogies  show  that  about  the  dawn  of  our  era  the  early  Polyne- 
sians were  among  the  Malay  Islands.  By  450  A.  D.  they  had  reached 
Samoa  and  by  850  A.  D.,  Tahiti.  ...  In  1175  A.  D.  the  primitive  Maoriori 
were  driven  out  of  New  Zealand  to  the  Chatham  Isles.  No  doubt  New 
Zealand  was  first  reached  several  hundred  years  before  this.  Tahiti 
seems  to  have  been  a  center  of  dispersal,  as  Percy  Smith  has  pointed 
out  in  his  interesting  book  "Hawaiki."  We  must,  however,  remember 
that  Melanesians  preceded  the  Polynesians  to  many  of  these  islands 
at  a  much  earlier  date.1 

However,  mutation  is  the  law  of  life.  Even  these 
small  groups  split  into  smaller  factions.  Some  went  south 
to  the  islands  of  the  Antipodes  and  called  themselves 
Maories;  others  went  north  of  the  equator  and  called 
themselves  Hawaiians.  The  physical  distribution  of  all 
the  races  in  the  Pacific,  rooting,  as  we  have  seen,  in 
Asia,  represents  a  virile  plant  the  stem  of  which  runs 
eastward  and  is  known  as  Micronesia  and  Melanesia, 
with  the  flowers,  in  all  their  diversified  loveliness, 
Hawaii,  Samoa,  Tahiti,  the  Marquesas,  and  Maoriland. 

*  Griffith  Taylor:  Geographical  Beview,  January,  1921. 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  MYSTEEIES  27 

What  made  them  what  they  are  f  How  is  it  that  being, 
as  it  seems,  people  of  extraction  similar  to  that  of  Euro- 
peans, they  have  remained  in  such  a  state  of  arrested 
development?  How  is  it  that  they  became  cannibals, 
eaters  of  men's  flesh?  Again  the  answer  is  not  far  to 
seek.  Just  like  the  Europeans,  they  followed  the  line  of 
least  resistance,  having  as  yet  developed  no  artificial  or 
brain-designed  weapons  against  the  stress  of  nature. 
Europeans,  in  time  of  great  famine,  have  not  themselves 
been  above  cannibalism.  In  our  Southern  States  we  have 
isolated  mountaineers  to  show  us  what  men  can  revert  to. 
And  in  northern  China  to-day,  essentially  Buddhist  and 
non-flesh-eating,  cannibalism  was  reported  during  the 
famine  last  year. 

But  Europe  had  what  Polynesia  did  not  have.  Driven 
by  the  force  of  necessity  out  of  continental  Asia,  Poly- 
nesia hid  itself  away  in  the  cracks  and  crannies  of  the 
Pacific;  Europeans  spread  over  a  small  continent  and 
broke  up  into  innumerable  warring  and  learning  tribes. 
Backward  and  forward  along  peninsular  Europe,  men 
communicated  to  one  another  their  emotional  and  objec- 
tive experiences.  The  result  has  been  a  culture  amazing 
only  in  its  diversity, — amazing  because,  with  contact  and 
interchange  of  racial  experiences,  the  coursing  and  re- 
coursing  of  the  same  blood,  stirred  and  dissolved,  it  is 
amazing  that  such  diversity  should  persist. 

But  in  Polynesia,  Melanesia,  Micronesia, — in  all  the 
distant  land-specks  of  the  Pacific, — contact  was  impos- 
sible in  the  larger  sense.  Though  canoes  did  slide  into 
strange  harbors  or  drift  or  row  in  and  about  the  atolls, 
they  afforded  at  most  romantic  stimuli  to  these  isolated 
groups.  Infusion  of  culture  was  very  difficult.  At  most, 
these  causal  meetings  added  to  or  confused  the  stories 
of  their  origin.  And  in  a  little  time  the  different  island 
groups  forgot  their  beginnings. 

Presently,  the  pressure  upon  their  small  areas  with 
the  limited  food  supply  began  to  make  itself  felt.  Some 


28  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

method  had  to  be  devised  for  the  limitation  of  population 
and  to  keep  in  food  what  few  numbers  there  were.  There 
seem  to  have  been  no  indigenous  animals  anywhere  in 
the  islands.  Darwin  found  only  a  mouse,  and  of  this  he 
was  uncertain  as  to  whether  it  really  was  indigenous. 
Except  for  a  few  birds,  and  the  giant  Moa  which  roamed 
the  islands  of  New  Zealand,  animal  life  was  everywhere 
insufficient  to  the  needs  of  so  vital  a  people  as  were  these. 
But  much  less  is  heard  to-day  of  the  cannibalism  said  to 
have  run  rampant  among  them.  It  is  even  disputed. 
The  fruits  of  the  tropics,  doubtless  rich  in  vitamines,  are 
peculiarly  suited  to  the  sustenance  of  so  spirited  a  race. 


The  Polynesians  found  in  the  various  islands  they  ap- 
proached, during  that  slow,  age-long  migration  eastward, 
tribes  and  islanders  inferior  to  themselves.  So  did  the 
Europeans  in  their  movement  westward.  The  primitive 
Caucasians  remained  and  mixed  slightly  along  the  way, 
leaving  here  and  there  traces  of  their  contact.  And  their 
ancestors  in  Asia  forgot  their  exiled  offspring. 

With  the  landing  of  Cook  at  Tahiti,  at  Poverty  Bay, 
at  Hawaii,  the  counter  invasion  of  the  Pacific  began.  For 
over  a  hundred  years  now  the  European  has  been  inject- 
ing his  culture,  his  vices,  his  iron  exactitude  into  the  so- 
called  primitive  races.  These  hundred  years  make  the 
second  phase  of  civilization  in  the  Pacific.  It  might  have 
been  the  last.  It  might  have  meant  the  reunion  of  Cau- 
casic  peoples,  their  blending  and  their  amalgamation, 
and  the  world  would  have  lived  happily  ever  after.  But 
the  eternal  triangle  plays  its  part  in  politics  no  less  than 
in  love,  and  the  third  period,  the  period  of  rivalry  and 
jealousy,  of  suspicion  and  scandal,  of  still-born  accom- 
plishment in  many  fields  has  set  in.  And  tragedy,  which 
men  love  because  it  is  closest  to  truth,  is  on  the  stage. 

The  third  period  dates  largely  from  the  discovery  and 


i*'.  W.  Caine,  1'hoto 

EVEN  FIJIANS  AHE  LOATH  TO  FORGET  THE  ARTS  OF  THEIR  FOREFATHERS 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  MYSTERIES  29 

the  awakening  of  Japan.  It  is  the  blocking  of  the  Euro- 
pean invasion  of  the  Pacific,  and  the  institution  of  a 
counter  move, — that  of  the  expansion  of  Asia  into  the 
Pacific, — which  will  be  treated  in  the  last  section  of  this 
book. 

To-day,  Polynesia  is  barely  holding  its  own.  Its  sons 
have  studied  "abroad,"  they  have  been  in  our  schools 
and  universities,  they  have  fought  in  "our"  war.  Rap- 
idly they  are  putting  aside  the  uncultured  simplicity  of 
adolescence.  For  long  they  treasured  drifts  of  iron- 
girded  flotsam  which  the  waves  in  their  impartiality  cast 
upon  their  shores;  to-day  iron  is  supplanting  thatch, 
and  a  belated  iron  age  is  reviving  their  imaginations, 
just  as  iron  guns  and  leaden  bullets  shattered  them  a 
century  ago.  In  the  light  of  their  astonishment,  Rip 
Van  Winkle  is  a  crude  conception;  Wells  has  had  to 
revise  and  enlarge  "When  the  Sleeper  Wakes"  into 
4  *  The  Outline  of  History. ' '  No  man  knows  what  is  preg- 
nant in  the  Pacific ;  nor  will  the  next  nine  eons  reveal  the 
possibilities. 


CHAPTER  III 

OUB  FBONTIEB  IN  THE  PACIFIC 


HONOLULU  marks  our  frontier  in  the  Pacific. 
Honolulu  has  been  conquered.  If  the  conquest  is 
that  of  love,  then  the  offspring  will  be  lovely ;  if  of  mere 
force,  or  intrigue,  then  Heaven  help  Honolulu!  As  far 
as  outward  signs  go,  we  are  in  a  city  American  in  most 
details.  The  numerous  trolleys,  the  modern  buildings, 
the  motor-cars,  the  undaunted  Western  efficiency  which 
no  people  is  able  to  withstand  has  gripped  Hawaii  in  an 
iron  grip.  True  that  the  foreign  (that  is,  Hawaiian, 
Chinese,  Japanese,  Portuguese)  districts  are  steeped  in 
squalor,  but  this  is  old  Honolulu.  The  new  is  a  little 
Los  Angeles  with  all  its  soullessness,  and  it  has  taken 
all  the  illusions  of  modern  civilization  to  accomplish  it. 
The  first  illusion  was  that  the  natives  would  be  better 
off  as  Americans  than  as  Hawaiians;  the  second,  that 
Hawaiians  were  lazy  and  Japanese  and  Chinese  were 
necessary ;  the  third,  that  cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness. 
How  have  these  things  worked  out?  The  Hawaiians  are 
in  the  ever-receding  minority,  the  Japanese  in  the  un- 
happy majority,  and  enjoyment  of  cleanliness  has  made 
most  men  forget  that  it  is  only  next  to  something  else.  If 
the  invited  are  coming  to  Honolulu  expecting  money- 
grabbers  to  turn  to  poetry  and  petty  politicians  to  phi- 
losophy, they  had  better  save  their  fares.  If  readers  of 
the  magazines  expect  to  find  a  melting-pot  in  which  all 
the  ingredients  are  dancing  about  with  their  arms  round 
one  another's  neck,  they  had  better  remain  at  home. 
For  the  first  and  foremost  effect  of  the  tropics  is  to 

30 


OUR  FRONTIER  IN  THE  PACIFIC  31 

individualize  things.  In  colder  climes  people  huddle  to- 
gether to  conserve  warmth;  here  they  give  one  another 
plenty  of  space.  Virtually  one  of  the  first  things  the 
new-comer  does  is  to  name  and  separate  things  from  the 
mass.  Every  little  thing  has  its  personality.  Plants 
grow  in  profusion,  but  each  opens  out  to  its  utmost.  One 
is  much  more  inclined  to  ask  what  this  flower  is  called 
in  Honolulu  than  in  America,  for  each  stands  out,  and  one 
stands  out  to  each.  Honolulu  exudes  moisture  and  fra- 
grance, stirring  the  passions  as  does  the  scent  of  a  clean 
w'oman.  It  limbers  up  one's  reasoning  faculties  and 
arouses  one 's  curiosity. 

On  the  street  every  Chinese  and  every  Japanese  comes 
in  for  his  share  of  attention.  One  begins  to  single  out 
types  as  it  has  never  occurred  to  one  to  do  in  New  York. 
In  Honolulu  all  intermingle,  flower  in  a  sort  of  unity,  but 
in  the  very  mass  they  retain  their  natural  variations. 
The  white  people  are  ordinarily  good,  they  have  mas- 
tered the  technique  of  life  sufficiently  and  play  tolerably 
well  to  an  uncritical  audience.  While  the  Hawaiian 
policeman  in  charge  of  the  traffic  stands  out  in  bold  relief 
because  the  dignity  and  importance  of  his  position  have 
stiffened  the  easy  tendencies  of  his  race, — he  is  self- 
conscious.  Monarch  of  Confusion,  arrayed  in  uniform, 
tall  and  with  the  manner  of  one  always  looking  from 
beneath  heavy  eyebrows,  it  is  said  that  he  causes  as  much 
trouble  as  he  allays.  But  that  is  mere  prejudice.  Who 
would  dare  ignore  his  arm  and  hand  as  he  directs  the 
passing  vehicle?  He  fascinates.  He  commands.  His 
austere  silence  is  awe-inspiring.  When  he  permits  a 
driver  to  pass,  there  is  a  touch  of  the  contemptuous  in 
that  relinquishment.  Nor  dare  the  driver  turn  the  corner 
till,  in  like  manner,  this  human  indicator  points  the  direc- 
tion for  him.  The  finger  follows  now  almost  mockingly, 
until  another  car  demands  its  attention,  and  it  becomes 
threatening  again. 

One  hears  of  the  all-inclusive  South  Seas  as  though 


32  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

it  were  something  totally  without  variation.  The  aver- 
age tourist  and  scribe  soon  acquires  the  South-Sea  style. 
But  the  more  discriminating  know  full  well  that  the  ex- 
pressions which  describe  one  of  the  South  Sea  islands  fall 
flat  when  applied  to  another.  " Liquid  sunshine"  is  a 
term  peculiarly  Hawaiian.  It  would  never  apply  to  Fiji, 
for  instance,  for  there  the  words  "  atmospheric  secre- 
tion" are  more  accurate.  Hence,  it  is  more  than  mere 
political  chance  that  has  made  Hawaii  so  utterly  different 
from  the  Philippines  and  the  litter  of  South  Seas. 

Honolulu  is  essentially  an  American  city.  The  hun- 
dreds of  motor-cars  that  dash  in  and  about  the  streets 
do  so  just  as  they  would  in  "sunny  California."  The 
shops  that  attract  the  Americans  are  just  like  any  in 
America, — clean,  attractive,  with  their  best  foot  forward. 
So  meticulous,  so  spotless,  so  untouchable  are  they  that 
the  soul  of  the  seeker  nearly  sickens  for  want  of  spice 
and  flavor.  To  have  to  live  on  Honolulu's  Main  Street 
would  be  like  drinking  boiled  water.  One  imagines  that 
when  the  white  men  came  thither,  finding  disease  and  un- 
cleanliness  rampant,  they  determined  that  if  they  were  to 
have  nothing  else  they  would  have  things  clean.  All  new- 
comers to  Oriental  and  primitive  countries  cling  to  that 
phase  of  civilization  with  something  akin  to  terror.  Gen- 
erally they  get  used  to  the  dirt.  They  have  not  done  so  in 
Honolulu.  It  may  be  that  mere  distance  has  something  to 
do  with  the  different  results,  but  certain  it  is  that  Manila, 
under  American  control  just  as  is  Honolulu,  has  none  of 
these  prim,  not  primitive,  drawbacks.  Twenty  years  of 
American  rule  have  done  little  really  to  Americanize 
Manila,  while  they  have  utterly  metamorphosed  Hono- 
lulu. 

The  man-made  machine  has  now  outlived  the  vitupera- 
tion of  idealists.  The  man-made  machine  is  running, 
and  even  the  most  romantic  enjoys  life  the  better  for  it. 
Clean  hotels,  swimming-pools  within-doors,  motor-cars 


OUR  FEONTIEE  IN  THE  PACIFIC  33 

that  bring  nature  to  man  with  the  least  loss  of  time  and 
cost  of  fatigue, — these  are  things  which  only  a  fool  would 
despise.  But  one  longs  for  some  show  of  the  human 
touch,  none  the  less,  and  cities  that  are  built  by  machine 
processes  are,  despite  all  their  virtues,  not  attractive.  At 
least,  they  are  not  different  enough  from  any  other  city 
in  the  modern  world  to  justify  a  week's  journey  for  the 
seeing.  One  hears  that  steamers  and  trains  and  air- 
planes are  killing  romance.  That  is  so,  but  not  because 
they  in  themselves  conduce  to  satiety,  but  because  they 
destroy  indigenous  creations  and  substitute  importations 
and  iron  exactitude.  Within  the  next  few  generations 
there  will,  indeed,  be  a  South  Seas,  indistinguishable  and 
without  variety.  Honolulu  is  an  example.  But  Honolulu 
is  not  Hawaii!  It  is  only  a  bit  of  decoration.  So  we 
shall  leave  this  phase  of  Hawaii  for  consideration  at  a 
time  when,  having  seen  the  things  native  to  the  Pacific, 
we  reflect  upon  the  meaning  and  purport  of  things  alien. 
In  Hawaii,  we  are  told, — and  without  exaggeration, — 
one  can  stand  in  the  full  sunshine  and  watch  the  rain 
across  the  street.  So,  too,  can  one  enjoy  some  of  the 
material  blessings  of  modern  life,  yet  be  within  touch  of 
nature  incomparably  exquisite. 


He  was  only  a  street-car  conductor.  Every  day  he 
journeyed  from  the  heart  of  Honolulu,  like  a  little  blood 
corpuscle,  through  arteries  of  trade  hardened  by  over- 
feeding, in  a  jerking,  rocking  old  trolley  car,  to  the  very 
edge  of  Manoa  Valley.  His  way  lay  along  the  fan- 
shaped  plane  behind  the  sea,  and  was  lined  with  semi- 
palatial  residences  and  Oahu  College.  Palms  swayed 
in  the  breeze,  and  the  night-blooming  eereus  slept  in  the 
glittering  sunlight  upon  the  stone  walls.  He  was  only 
a  street-car  conductor,  furnished  with  his  three  spare 
meals  a  day  and  his  bed,  but  he  fed  along  the  way  on 


34  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

sweets  that  no  street-car  conductor  in  any  other  place  in 
the  world  has  by  way  of  compensation.  He  was  carved 
with  wrinkles  and  his  frail  frame  bent  slightly  forward, 
but  his  heart  was  young  within  him,  and  he  acted  like 
a  plutocrat  whose  hobby  was  gardening  and  whose  gar- 
dens were  rich  with  the  finest  flowers  on  earth.  The 
delight  he  took  in  the  open  country,  barely  the  edge  of 
which  he  reached  so  many  times  a  day,  was  pathetic. 
When  I  asked  him  to  let  me  off  where  I  could  wander  on 
the  open  road,  he  beamed  with  pleasure  and  delight,  and 
told  me  where  I  should  have  to  go  really  to  reach  the 
wild.  There  may  be  other  places  in  the  world  as  beau- 
tiful and  even  more  so,  but  no  place  ever  had  such  a 
street-car  conductor  to  recommend  it.  And  no  recom- 
mendation was  ever  more  poetic  and  inspiring  than  this, 
— not  even  that  of  the  Promotion  Committee  of  Hono- 
lulu. 

And,  strange  to  say,  I  have  never  been  guided  more 
honestly  and  more  truthfully  than  when  that  street-car 
conductor  advised  me  to  go  to  Manoa  Valley.  I  lived 
an  eternity  of  joy  in  the  few  hours  I  spent  there.  I  knew 
that  not  many  miles  beyond  I  should  again  be  blocked 
by  the  sea.  I  could  not  see  it  because  of  the  hills  which 
spend  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  of  every  year 
dressing  themselves  in  their  very  best  and  posing  before 
the  mirror  of  the  sky.  Not  more  than  one  or  two  natives 
passed  me,  nor  did  any  other  living  creature  appear. 
I  could  only  romance  with  myself,  refusing  to  be  fooled 
by  the  talk  about  fair  maidens  with  leis  round  their  necks. 
I  was  certain  that  back  home  there  were  maidens  whose 
beauty  could  not  be  equaled  here ;  whose  soft,  white  skins 
and  shapely  forms  were  never  excelled  by  tropical  loveli- 
ness. But  I  was  just  as  certain  that  there  was  nothing 
at  home  that  compared  to  nature  as  it  is  lavished  upon 
man  here  in  Hawaii,  and  especially  in  Manoa  Valley. 

We  all  have  our  compensations,  and  I  have  even  shown 
preference  for  a  return  to  the  joys  of  genuine  human 


OUE  FEONTIEE  IN  THE  PACIFIC  35 

beauty  which  the  maker  of  worlds  gave  to  America, 
and  to  leave  to  the  mid-Pacific  verdure  and  altitudes 
whose  combination  stirs  my  mind  with  passionate  adora- 
tion to  this  very  day.  Still,  I  shall  ever  be  grateful  to 
that  wizened  street-car  conductor  for  having  suggested 
that  I  visit  his  little  valley,  which  he  himself  can  enter 
only  after  paying  a  penalty  of  sixteen  journeys  between 
Heaven  and  Honolulu  every  day,  carrying  the  money- 
makers backward  and  forward.  Perhaps  he  does  not 
regard  it  as  a  penalty.  Perhaps  he  feels  himself  fully 
compensated  if  one  or  two  of  his  human  parcels  asks  him 
where  may  be  found  the  Open  Eoad. 


Sullen  and  less  concerned  with  emotional  or  spiritual 
values  was  the  driver  of  the  motor-bus  whom  we  ex- 
humed one  day  from  the  heart  of  Honolulu's  "foreign" 
section.  He  evidently  regarded  nature  on  his  route  as  too 
great  a  strain  on  his  brakes,  though  he,  too,  must  have 
felt  that  compensation  was  meted  out  to  him  manifold. 
For  few  people  come  to  Hawaii  and  leave  without  con- 
tributing some  small  share  to  his  support,  as  he  is  the 
shuttle  between  Honolulu  and  Kaneohe,  and  carries  the 
thread  of  sheer  joy  through  the  eye  of  that  wondrous 
needle,  the  Pali. 

At  the  Pali  one  senses  the  youth  and  vigor  of  our 
earth.  Its  peak,  piercing  the  sky,  seems  on  the  point 
of  emerging  from  the  sea.  It  has  raised  its  head  above 
the  waters  and  stands  with  an  air  of  contempt  for  lone- 
liness, wrapped  in  mist,  defying  the  winds.  The  world 
seems  to  fall  away  from  it.  It  has  triumphed.  There  is 
none  of  that  withdrawing  dignity  of  Fujiyama,  the  great 
man  who  looks  on.  The  Pali  imposes  itself  upon  your 
consciousness  with  spectacular  gusto,  like  the  villain 
stamping  his  way  into  the  very  center  of  the  stage  and 
gazing  roundabout  over  a  protruding  chin. 


36  THE  PACIFIC  TBIANGLE 

The  palm-trees  bow  solemnly  before  changeless  winds, 
in  the  direction  of  Honolulu,  which  lies  like  an  open  fan 
at  the  foot  of  the  valley  near  the  sea.  Color  is  in  action 
everywhere, — spots  of  metallic  green,  of  volcanic  red, 
filtered  through  a  screen  of  marine  gray.  Honolulu  lies 
below  to  the  rear;  Kaneohe,  beyond  vast  fields  of  pine- 
apple, before  us;  the  sea,  wide,  open,  limitless  except 
for  the  reaches  of  the  heavens,  binding  all.  And  then 
there  is  an  upward,  circular  motion, — that  of  the  rising 
mists  drawn  by  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun  pressing 
landward  and  dashing  themselves  into  the  valley  and 
falling  in  sheets  of  rain  upon  the  earth.  Wedged  into 
a  gully,  as  though  caught  and  unable  to  break  away,  was 
a  heavy  cloud, — but  it  was  being  drained  of  every  drop 
of  moisture  as  a  traveler  held  up  by  a  gang  of  highway- 
men. 

This  circular  motion  is  found  not  only  in  inanimate  na- 
ture. Once,  at  least,  it  has  whirled  the  Hawaiians  into 
tragedy.  Here,  history  tells  us,  Kamehameha  I  (the  fifth 
from  the  last  of  Hawaii's  kings)  hurled  an  army  of  native 
Oahu  islanders  over  this  bluff,  back  into  the  source  of 
their  being.  Without  quarter  he  pressed  them  on,  over 
this  pass;  while  they,  unwilling  to  yield  to  capture,  chose 
gladly  to  dash  themselves  into  the  valley  below.  One  is 
impressed  by  the  striking  interplay  of  emotion  with  sheer 
nature.  The  controlling  element  which  directs  both  man 
and  mountain  seems  the  same.  States  and  stars  alike 
emerge,  crash,  and  crumble. 

We  rolled  rapidly  down  into  the  valley  past  miles  and 
miles  of  pineapple  fields.  Then  we  came,  as  it  were,  to 
the  land's  end.  Nothing  sheer  now  before  us,  nothing 
precipitate.  A  bit  of  freshness,  of  coolness,  and  an  im- 
perceptible tapering  off.  The  sea. 

Here  at  Kaneohe  dwelt  Arthur  Mackaye,  brother  of 
the  poet,  whose  name  was  vaguely  known  to  me.  He  was 
slender,  bearded,  loosely  clad,  with  open  collar  but  not 
without  consciousness  and  conventionality, — a  conven- 


OUR  FRONTIER  IN  THE  PACIFIC  37 

tionality  in  accordance  with  prescribed  notions  of  free- 
dom. Refreshing,  cool  as  the  atmosphere  roundabout, 
distinct  from  the  tropical  lusciousness  which  is  the  gen- 
eral state  of  both  men  and  nature  in  and  about  Honolulu, 
the  personality  of  this  lone  man — this  man  who  had  flung 
everything  aside — was  a  fit  complement  to  the  experience 
of  Manoa  Valley  and  the  Pali. 

He  conducted  a  small  sight-seeing  expedition  on  his 
own.  The  proprietor  of  a  number  of  glass-bottomed 
launches,  he  took  me  over  the  quiet  waters  of  the  reefs. 
Throwing  a  black  cloth  over  my  head  to  shield  me  from 
the  brilliant  sky,  I  gazed  down  into  the  still  world  within 
the  coral  reefs.  There  lay  unimaginable  peace.  What 
the  Pali  affords  in  panorama,  the  bay  at  Kaneohe  offers 
in  concentrated  form.  Pink-and-white  forests  twenty  to 
forty  feet  deep,  with  immense  cavities  and  ledges  of 
delicate  coral,  fringe  the  shore.  Fish  of  exquisite  color 
move  in  and  out  of  these  giant  chambers,  as  much  at 
home  in  one  as  in  another.  Droll,  sleepy  sponges,  like 
lumps  of  porous  mud,  lie  flat  against  the  reefs,  waiting 
for  something  edible  to  come  their  way.  Long  green 
sea-worms  extend  and  contract  like  the  tentacles  of  an 
octopus  in  an  insatiable  search  for  food. 

An  unusual  silence  hangs  over  the  memory  of  that 
trip.  I  cannot  recall  that  the  unexpected  companion  I 
picked  up  in  Honolulu  said  anything ;  the  lonely  one  who 
furnished  the  glass-bottomed  boat  certainly  said  noth- 
ing; the  fish  and  sponges  emphasized  the  tone  of  silence 
associated  with  the  experience.  But  the  Pali  shrieked; 
it  was  the  one  imposing  element  that  defied  stillness. 
And  below  it  is  Honolulu,  where  silence  is  not  to  be 
found. 


For  the  Honolulu  spirit  is  averse  to  silence.  Honolulu 
is  the  most  talkative  city  in  the  world.  The  people  seem 
to  talk  with  their  eyes,  with  their  gait,  with  their  pos- 


38  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

tures.  Night  and  day  there  stirs  the  confusion  of  people 
attending  to  one  another's  wants.  One  is  in  a  ceaseless 
whirl  of  extraverted  emotions.  One  cannot  get  away 
from  it.  The  man  who  could  be  lonely  in  Honolulu  would 
have  to  have  his  ears  closed  with  cement.  If  New  York 
were  as  talkative  as  Honolulu,  not  all  of  America's  Main 
Streets  together  would  drown  it  out. 

For  Honolulu  teems  with  good-fellowship.  It  is  the 
religion  of  Honolulu  to  have  a  good  time,  and  every  one 
feels  impelled  before  God  and  Patria  to  live  up  to  its 
precepts.  Everybody  not  only  has  a  good  time  but  talks 
having  a  good  time.  Not  that  there  are  no  undercurrents 
of  jealousy  and  gossip.  By  no  means.  The  stranger  is 
let  into  these  with  the  same  gusto  that  swirls  him  into 
pleasurable  activities.  It  is  a  busy,  whirligig  world. 
Even  the  Y.M.C.A.  spirit  prevails  without  restraint.  I 
had  found  the  building  of  the  association  very  conven- 
ient, and  stopped  there.  That  put  the  stamp  of  good- 
ness on  me,  but  it  did  not  exclude  me  from  being  drawn 
into  a  roisterous  crowd  that  danced  and  drank  and  dis- 
sipated dollars,  and  heaved  a  sigh  of  relief  that  I  did  not 
preach  to  it.  Its  members  were  glad  that  I  was  just 
"stopping"  at  the  Y.  They  didn't  see  how  I  could  do 
it,  but  that  was  my  affair.  If  I  still  managed  to  be  a  good 
fellow, — well,  I  belonged  to  Honolulu. 

Channian  London  had  given  me  a  note  of  introduction 
to  a  friend,  Wright,  of  the  "Bulletin."  Wright  was  a 
bachelor  and  had  a  little  bungalow  across  from  the 
Waikiki  Hotel  on  the  beach.  There  we  met  one  evening. 
It  had  every  indication  of  the  touch  of  a  woman's  hand. 
It  was  neatly  furnished,  cozy,  restful.  Two  nonchalant 
young  men  came  in,  but  after  a  delightful  meal  hurried 
away  to  some  party.  Wright  and  I  were  left.  What 
should  we  do  ?  Something  must  be  done. 

He  ordered  a  touring-car.  We  whirled  along  under 
the  open  sky  with  a  most  disporting  moon,  and  it  seemed 
a  pity  we  had  none  with  us  over  whom  to  romanticize. 


OUR  FRONTIER  IN  THE  PACIFIC  39 

Quietly,  as  though  we  were  on  a  moving  stage,  the  world 
slipped  by, — palms,  rice-fields  ashimmer  with  silver 
light.  Through  luxuriant  avenues,  we  passed  up  the  road 
toward  the  Pali.  Somewhere  half-way  we  stopped.  The 
Country  Club.  A  few  introductions,  a  moment's  stay, 
and  off  we  went  again,  this  time  to  avoid  the  dance  that 
was  to  take  place  there.  Slipping  along  under  the  moon- 
light, we  made  our  way  back  to  Waikiki  beach,  dismissed 
the  car,  and  took  a  table  at  Heinie  's  which  is  now,  I  un- 
derstand, no  more. 

But  we  had  only  jumped  from  the  frying-pan  into  the 
fire.  Others,  bored  with  the  club  dance,  had  come  to 
Heinie 's  for  more  fling  than  dancing  afforded.  The  hall 
was  not  crowded,  so  we  were  soon  noticed.  Mr.  Wright 
was  known. 

"They  want  us  to  come  over,"  he  said.  "  Just  excuse 
me  a  moment. " 

Presently  he  returned.  I  had  been  specifically  invited 
over  with  him.  I  accepted  the  invitation.  Then,  till  there 
were  no  more  minutes  left  of  that  day,  we  indulged  in 
one  continuous  passing  of  wits  and  wets.  Before  half 
the  evening  was  over,  I  was  one  of  the  crowd  in  genuine 
Honolulu  fashion,  and  nothing  was  too  personal  for  ex- 
pression. 

But  one  there  was  in  the  group  to  whom  all  her  indul- 
gences were  obviously  strange,  though  she  seemed  well 
practised.  She  was  a  romantic  soul,  and  sought  to  coun- 
teract the  teasing  of  the  others.  Her  deprecation  of 
whisky  and  soda  was  almost  like  poor  Satan's  hatred  of 
hell.  She  vibrated  to  romantic  memories  like  a  cello  Gr 
string.  When  she  learned  that  I  was  westward  bound, 
she  fairly  moaned  with  regret. 

* '  China ! — oh,  dear,  beloved  China !  I  would  give  any- 
thing in  the  world  to  get  back  there!"  she  exclaimed, 
and  whatever  notions  I  had  of  the  Orient  became  exalted 
a  thousandfold.  But  my  own  conviction  is  that  she 
missed  the  cheap  servants  which  Honolulu  lacks.  In 


40  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

other  words,  there  were  still  not  enough  leisure  and 
Bubbling  Well  Roads  in  Honolulu,  nor  the  international 
atmosphere  that  is  Shanghai's.  But  that  is  mere  conjec- 
ture, and  she  was  a  romantic  soul,  and  good  to  look  at. 

But  there  were  two  others  in  the  crowd  who  did  not, 
in  their  hilarious  spirits,  whirl  into  my  ken  until  some 
time  afterward.  Their  speed  was  that  of  the  comet's, 
and  what  was  a  plodding  little  planet  like  myself  to  do 
trying  to  move  into  their  orbit?  They  were  not  native 
daughters  of  Honolulu;  most  of  their  lives  they  had 
spent  in  California,  which  in  the  light  of  Hawaii  is  a 
raw,  chill  land.  There  they  carried  on  the  drab  existence 
of  trying  to  earn  a  living, — just  work  and  no  play.  But 
evidently  they  had  never  given  up  hope.  They  were  tall, 
thin,  fair,  and  jolly.  They  invested.  They  won.  It  was 
only  two  thousand  dollars.  They  earned  as  much  every 
year,  no  doubt,  but  it  came  to  them  in  instalments.  Now 
they  had  a  real  roll.  Bang  went  the  job !  American  in- 
dustry, all  that  depended  on  their  being  stable,  honest 
producers,  the  smoothness  of  organization,  was  banished 
from  their  minds.  Let  the  country  go  to  the  dogs ;  they 
were  heading  for  Honolulu  for  a  good  time.  And  when 
they  got  there  they  did  not  find  the  cupboard  bare,  nor 
excommunication  for  being  jobless. 

For  as  long  as  two  thousand  dollars  will  last  where 
money  flows  freely  (and  there  are  plenty  of  men  ready 
to  help  stretch  it  with  generous  entertainment)  these 
two  escaped  toilers  from  the  American  deep  ran  the 
gamut  of  Honolulu's  conviviality.  Night  after  night 
they  whispered  amorous  compliments  in  the  ears  of  the 
favorite  dancers;  day  after  day  they  flitted  from  party 
to  party.  I  had  met  them  just  as  their  two  thousand 
dollars  were  drawing  to  a  close,  but  the  only  thing  one 
could  hear  was  regret  that  they  could  not  possibly  be 
extended.  Honolulu  was  richer  by  two  thousand;  they 
were  poorer  to  the  extent  of  perpetual  restlessness  and 
rebellion  against  the  necessity  of  holding  down  a  job. 


OUE  FRONTIER  IN  THE  PACIFIC  41 

Yet  the  " Primer"  published  by  the  Promotion  Commit- 
tee tells  us  that  Hawaii  is  "not  a  paradise  for  the  job- 
less." These  folk  had  no  jobs,  yet  they  certainly  felt 
and  acted  and  spoke  as  though  they  were  in  Paradise. 

Witness  the  arrivals  and  departures  of  steam- 
ers. The  crowds  gather  as  for  a  fete  or  a  carnival. 
Bands  play,  serpentines  stream  over  the  ship's  side,  and 
turn  its  dull  color  into  a  careless  rainbow.  Hawaiian 
women  sell  leis,  necklaces  of  the  most  luscious  flowers 
whose  scent  is  enough  to  empassion  the  most  passionless. 
But  as  to  jobs, — why,  even  the  longshoremen  seem  to  be 
celebrating  and  the  steamer  moves  as  by  spirit-power. 

Visit  Waikiki  beach,  and  every  day  it  is  littered  with 
people  who  enjoy  the  afternoon  hours  on  the  tireless 
breakers.  Go  to  the  hotels,  and  hardly  an  hour  finds 
them  deserted.  The  motor-cars  are  constantly  carrying 
men  and  women  about  as  though  there  was  nothing  in  the 
wide  world  to  do.  Even  those  who  are  unlucky  enough 
to  have  jobs  attend  to  them  in  a  leisurely  sort  of  way. 
Yet  these  jobless  people  hold  up  their  hands  in  warning 
to  possible  immigrants  that  there  is  no  room  for  them, 
that  "Hawaii  is  not  a  paradise  for  the  jobless.'1 


Who,  then,  does  the  work  of  the  island?  It  is  obvious 
that  it  is  being  done.  There  is  n't  another  island  in  the 
whole  Pacific  so  modernized,  so  thoroughly  equipped,  so 
American  in  every  detail,  so  progressive  and  well-to-do. 
It  is  the  most  sublimated  of  the  sublime  South  Seas. 
One  wonders  how  white  men  could  have  remained  so 
energetic  in  the  tropics,  but  one  is  not  long  left  unin- 
formed. Honolulu  is  an  example  of  a  most  ideal  com- 
bination of  peoples,  the  inventive,  progressive,  construc- 
tive white  man  with  the  energetic,  persistent,  plodding 
Oriental.  Without  the  one  or  the  other,  Honolulu  would 
not  be  what  it  is ;  both  have  contributed  to  the  welfare  of 
the  islands  in  ways  immeasurable. 


42  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find  the  Oriental  ele- 
ments as  much  in  evidence  as  the  Occidental.  One  hardly 
knows  where  one  begins  and  the  other  ends.  As  spacious 
and  individualized  as  are  the  European  sections,  so  the 
Asiatic  are  a  perfect  jumble  of  details.  The  buildings 
are  drab,  the  streets  are  littered,  the  smells  are  insinu- 
ating, the  sounds  excruciating. 

A  most  painful  noise  upon  an  upper  balcony  of  an 
overhanging  Chinese  building  made  me  come  to  with  a 
sudden  clapping  of  my  hands  against  my  ears.  As  noise 
goes,  it  was  perfect, — without  theme  or  harmony.  It 
could  not  have  been  more  uncontrolled.  What  consola- 
tion was  it  that  in  China  there  was  more  of  it !  Gratitude 
awakened  in  me  for  the  limitations  a  wise  joss  had  placed 
upon  the  capacities  of  the  individual.  Yet  men  are  never 
satisfied.  These  Chinese  weren't,  and  combined  their 
energies.  What  one  man  couldn't  accomplish,  several 
could  at  least  approach.  So  we  had  a  band.  I  should 
certainly  never  have  thought  it  possible,  myself. 

However,  they  were  trying  to  achieve  something.  It 
was  neither  gay  nor  mournful;  nor  was  it  sentimental. 
What  purpose  could  it  possibly  have  served?  Surely 
they  had  no  racial  regrets  or  aspirations,  they  who 
played  it!  The  bird  sings  to  his  mate,  but  what  mate 
would  listen  to  such  tin-canning  and  howling,  and  not 
die? 

To  me  there  was  something  charming  in  this  shame- 
lessness  of  the  Chinese,  something  childlike  and  naive. 
I  had  never  realized  the  meaning  of  that  little  rhyme, 

I  would  not  give  the  weakest  of  my  song 
For  all  the  boasted  strength  of  all  the  strong 
If  but  the  million  weak  ones  of  the  world 
Would  realize  their  number  and  their  wrong. 

The  thought  is  almost  terrifying  when  applied  to  the 
teeming  hordes  of  the  world,  whether  of  Asia,  Europe, 
or  the  South  Seas.  If  sheer  numbers  are  any  justifica- 
tion of  supremacy,  God  had  better  take  His  old  world 
back  and  reshape  it  nearer  something  rational  One 


OUR  FRONTIER  IN  THE  PACIFIC  43 

becomes  conscious  of  this  welling  up  of  the  world  in 
Hawaii.  Not  that  the  Chinese  and  the  Japanese  have  n't 
the  same  right  to  life  and  to  its  fulfilment  in  accordance 
with  latent  instinct  and  ability,  with  all  its  special  racial 
traits  and  customs,  but  one  doesn't  just  exactly  see  how 
numbers  have  anything  to  do  with  it.  Yet  here  are  the 
Chinese  and  Japanese  slowly,  quietly,  persistently  out- 
distancing the  white  by  a  process  of  doubling  in  num- 
bers, where  mentality  and  ingenuity  would  doubtless  fail. 

One  hears  much  about  the  progress  of  the  Orient. 
That  is,  white  folk  talk  much  about  the  way  in  which  the 
East  is  taking  to  Western  ways,  and  call  that  progress. 
One  would  not  expect  that  sort  of  progress  to  proceed 
with  any  great  velocity  in  the  East  itself,  but  it  is  only 
necessary  to  observe  the  ingrowing  tendencies  of  life  in 
Hawaii,  however  superficially,  to  see  how  foolishly  opti- 
mistic is  the  expectation  of  such  progress.  For  even  in 
Hawaii,  where  everything  has  had  to  be  built  afresh, 
where  everybody  is  an  alien — with  very  few  exceptions — 
and  where  the  dominant  element  is  European,  the  East 
is  still  the  East,  and  the  West  the  West.  There  is  a 
slight  overlapping,  but  not  enough  to  make  one  lose 
one's  way, — to  make  a  white  man  walk  into  a  Chinese 
restaurant  and  not  know  it.  The  fastidious  white  man 
whose  curiosity  gets  the  better  of  him,  moves  about  the 
Chinese  and  Japanese  districts  fully  conscious  of  his 
own  shortcomings.  He  is  less  able  to  feel  at  home  there 
than  the  Oriental  on  the  main  street;  but  why  doesn't 
the  Oriental  build  for  himself  a  main  street? 

I  was  abroad  early  one  Sunday  morning,  headed  for 
the  Chinese  section.  Lost  in  thought,  I  went  along, 
gazing  on  the  ground.  Had  Charlie  Chaplin's  feet  sud- 
denly come  into  my  range  of  vision  I  should  not  have 
been  more  surprised  than  I  was  when  two  tiny  shoes, 
hardly  bigger  than  those  of  a  large-sized  doll,  and  with 
some  of  that  stiff,  automatic  movement  of  the  species 
mechanicus,  dissipated  my  reflections.  I  raised  my  eyes 


44  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

slowly,  as  when  waking,  up,  up,  up, — hem  of  skirt,  knees, 
waist-line,  flat  bosom,  narrow  shoulders,  sallow  face,  and 
slit  eyes !  A  Chinese  woman !  She  was  as  big  as  a  four- 
teen-year-old girl,  but  her  feet  were  a  third  of  their  due 
proportion.  How  many  thousands  of  years  of  natural 
selection  went  into  the  making  of  those  little  feet!  Yet 
she  was  a  rare  enough  exception  to  astound  my  ab- 
stracted mind.  About  her  strolled  hundreds  of  others  of 
her  race,  who  would  have  given  much  of  life  to  possess 
those  two  little  feet. 

Differences  abound  in  Hawaii.  The  Chinese  is  no  twin 
brother  of  the  Japanese.  In  fact,  there  is  probably  as 
much  relationship  between  the  Hawaiian  and  the  Japan- 
ese as  there  is  between  these  two  ''Oriental"  races.  The 
major  part  of  the  Japanese  being  Malay  and  the  Poly- 
nesian Hawaiians  having  at  least  lived  with  the  Malays 
some  hundreds  of  years  ago  and  infused  some  of  their 
Caucasic  ingredients  into  them,  there  is  more  of  "home- 
coming'r  when  ' '  Jap ' '  meets  *  *  Poly, ' '  than  when  he  meets 
"Chink."  But  notwithstanding  proximity  and  propin- 
quity, over  which  diplomatic  letter-writers  labor  hard, 
when  the  Chinese  and  the  Japanese  and  the  Hawaiian 
come  together,  the  Hawaiian  "vanishes  like  dewdrops 
by  the  roadside,"  the  Chinese  jogs  along,  and  the  Japan- 
ese runs  motor-cars  and  raises  children.  The  Japanese 
obtrudes  himself  much  more  upon  the  life  of  the  com- 
munity than  the  other  two  races,  but  with  no  more  re- 
linquishment  of  his  own  ways.  He  drives  the  cars  and 
he  drives  white  men  to  more  activity  than  they  really  en- 
joy. And  the  Hawaiian  sells  necklaces  of  luscious  flowers 
under  the  shaded  porticoes  of  the  buildings  along  the 
waterfront. 

Aside  from  the  adoption  of  our  trousers  and  coat  and 
hat,  and  a  few  other  unimportant  aspects  of  our  civiliza- 
tion, the  observer  on  the  streets  of  Honolulu  sees  no 
mingling  of  races.  The  only  outward  sign  of  this  mixing 
is  the  Salvation  Army.  There,  large  as  life,  with  the 


MILES  AWAY   ROSE   THE   FUMES  OF   KILAUEA 
During  the  day  they  were  ashen  and  at  night  like  rose  dawn 


THE   LARGEST  CAULDRON   OF   MOLTEN   ROCK   ON  EARTH 
Eight  hundred  feet  below  it  seethed 


Photo,  Otto  C.  Gilmore 

A   RIVER   OF   ROCK   POURING    OUT   INTO   THE   SEA 


Photo,  Otto  C.  Gilmore 
WHIRLING   EDDIES   OF  LAVA   UNDERMINING   FROZEN   LAVA   PROJECTIONS 


OUE  FKONTIER  IN  THE  PACIFIC  45 

usual  circular  crowd  about  them,  stood  these  soldiers  of 
misfortune,  praising  the  Lord  in  English.  A  row  of  un- 
limited Oriental  offspring  upon  the  curb;  a  few  grown- 
ups on  the  walk;  a  converted  Japanese  who  looked  as 
though  his  Shinto  father  had  disowned  him;  a  self- 
conscious  white  boy  who  confessed  to  having  been  con- 
verted just  recently;  two  indifferent-looking  soldiers;  a 
distrustful-looking  leader  and  a  hopeless-visaged  white 
woman.  Twenty  feet  away,  a  saloon.  I  wonder  what  the 
Salvation  Army  is  going  to  do  now  that  that  object  of 
attraction  is  no  more. 

As  far  as  Honolulu  was  concerned,  it  seemed  to  me  that 
barter  and  trade  were  more  intoxicating  to  the  majority 
than  was  drink.  The  world  everywhere  about  seemed 
a-litter  with  boxes  and  bales  and  shops  and  indulgences. 
How  much  of  all  the  things  exchanged,  how  many  of  the 
things  for  which  these  people  toil  endlessly,  are  worth 
•while  or  essential,  or  even  truly  satisfying?  The  dingy 
stores,  their  only  worth  their  damp  coolness;  the  hud- 
dling and  the  innocent  dirt ;  the  inextricable  mesh  of  little 
things  to  be  done, — only  the  Chinese  sage  who  posed  for 
my  camera  in  front  of  his  wee  stock  of  yarns  was  able  to 
tell  their  value  to  life.  His  long,  thin,  pointed  beard, 
his  lack  of  vanity  in  accepting  my  interest  in  him,  his 
genial  smile  and  fatherly  disinterestedness  symbolized 
more  than  anything  I  saw  in  Honolulu  the  virtue  and  en- 
durance of  race.  Beside  the  eager,  grasping  Japanese 
and  the  rolling,  expanding  white  men,  he  looked  like  the 
overtowering  palm-tree  that  seems  to  grow  out  of  the 
monkey-pod  in  the  park. 


To  a  creature  from  another  world,  hovering  over  us 
in  the  unseen  ether,  watching  us  move  about  beneath  the 
sea  of  air  which  is  life  to  us,  Honolulu  would  seem  like 
a  little  glass  aquarium.  The  human  beings  move  about 
as  though  on  the  best  of  terms  with  one  another.  Some 


46  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

look  more  gorgeous  than  others,  but  from  outward  ap- 
pearances they  are  as  innocent  of  ill  intentions  against 
one  another  as  the  aquatic  creatures  for  which  Hawaii  is 
famous,  out  in  the  cool,  moist  aquarium  at  Waikiki. 

Kihikihi,  the  Hawaiians  call  one  of  them,  and  his 
friends  the  white  folk  have  christened  him  Moorish  Idol. 
I  don't  know  what  Kihikihi  means,  but  as  to  his  being 
an  idol,  I  can't  accept  that  for  a  moment,  except  in  so  far 
as  he  deserves  to  be  idolized.  For  about  him  there  is  no 
more  of  that  static,  woodeny  thing  which  idols  generally 
are  than  there  is  about  Pavlowa.  Yet  he  is  only  a  fish, 
and  not  so  very  large  at  that.  He  is  moon-shaped,  but 
rainbow-hued.  He  is  perhaps  three-quarters  of  an  inch 
across  the  shoulders,  but  six  inches  up  and  down,  and 
perhaps  eight  from  nose  to  the  ends  of  his  two  tails. 
And  so  he  looks  like  a  three-quarter  moon.  Soft,  vertical 
bands  of  black,  white,  and  egg-yellow  run  into  one  an- 
other on  both  sides,  and  a  long  white  plume  trails  down- 
ward in  a  semicircle.  He  is  the  last  word  in  form,  trans- 
lucent harmony  of  color  and  of  motion.  He  moves  about 
with  rhythmic  dignity  and  grace.  At  times  his  eyes 
bulge  with  an  eagerness  and  self-importance  as  though 
the  world  depended  on  him  for  its  security.  Though  he 
is  constantly  searching  for  food,  he  does  not  seem  ava- 
ricious; and  while  he  admits  his  importance,  he  is  not 
proud. 

Kihikihi  has  a  rival  in  Nainai,  who  has  been  given  an 
alias, — Surgeon  Fish,  light  brown  with  an  orange  band 
on  his  sides.  Nainai  is  heavier  than  Kihikihi,  more 
plump.  His  color,  too,  is  heavier  and  therefore  seems 
more  restrained.  It  is  richer  and  hence  stimulates  envy 
and  desire. 

Lauwiliwili  Unkunukuoeoe  has  no  aliases,  thank  you, 
but  he  has  a  snout  on  which  his  Hawaiian  name  could 
be  stamped  in  fourteen-point  type  and  still  leave  room 
for  half  a  dozen  aliases.  Only  a  water-creature  could 
possess  such  a  title  as  this  and  keep  from  dragging 


OUR  FRONTIER  IN  THE  PACIFIC  47 

it  in  the  mud.  Knowing  that  he  would  be  called  by  that 
appellation  in  life,  his  Creator  must  have  compensated 
him  with  plenty  of  snout. 

But  it  is  better  to  have  one  long  snout  than  eight.  And 
though  no  one  would  give  preference  to  any  devil-fish, 
this  long-snouted  creature  is  the  rival  by  an  inverse  ratio 
of  that  eight-snouted  glutton.  The  octopus,  the  devil  of 
the  deep,  is  an  insult  to  fishdom.  The  Moorish  Idol  and 
this  Medusa-like  monster  in  the  same  aquarium  make  a 
worse  combination  than  Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde.  This 
ugly,  flabby,  boneless  body,  just  thick  skin  and  muscle, 
with  a  large  bag  for  a  head, — eight  sea-worms  extending 
and  contracting  in  an  insatiable  search  for  food  is  the 
paramount  example  of  gross  materialism.  If  only  the 
high  cost  of  living  would  drive  to  suicide  this  beast  with 
hundreds  of  mouths  to  feed,  the  world  might  be  rid  of  a 
perfidious-looking  monster.  But  his  looks  do  him  great 
injustice,  and  were  the  Hawaiian  variety — which  is,  after 
all,  only  squid — to  disappear,  the  natives  would  be  de- 
prived of  one  of  their  chief  delicacies.  At  the  markets — 
that  half-way  house  between  aquaria  and  museums — nu- 
merous dried  octopus,  like  moth-eaten  skins,  lie  about 
waiting  for  the  housewife 's  art  to  camouflage  them.  But 
I  shall  have  something  to  say  elsewhere  about  markets 
and  museums,  and  now  shall  turn,  for  a  moment,  to  more 
startling  wonders  still. 


An  artist  is  delighted  if  he  finds  a  study  with  a  perfect 
hand  or  a  beautiful  neck ;  or,  in  nature,  if  a  simple  charm 
is  left  undisturbed  by  the  confusion  of  human  creation. 
Yet  at  night  as  our  ship  passed  the  island  of  Maui,  it 
seemed  to  me  that  all  the  sweet  simplicities  that  make 
life  worth  while  had  been  assembled  here  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world  and  left  untouched.  The  moon  rose  on 
the  peak  of  the  cone-shaped  mountain,  and  for  a  time 


48  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

stood  set,  like  a  moonstone  in  a  ring.  The  pyramid  of 
night-blue  earth  was  necklaced  in  street  lights,  which 
stretched  their  frilled  reflections  across  the  surface  of 
the  sea ;  and  just  back  of  it  all  lay  the  crater  of  Haleakala, 
the  House  of  the  Sun. 

At  sunrise  next  morning  we  were  docked  at  Hilo  on 
the  island  of  Hawaii,  two  hundred  miles  from  Honolulu. 
There  was  nothing  here  impressive  to  me,  despite  the 
waterfalls.  For  two  and  a  half  hours  we  drove  by  motor 
over  the  turtle-back  surface  of  Hawaii  toward  Kilauea. 
Tree-ferns,  palms,  and  plantations  stretched  in  unending 
recession  far  and  wide.  A  sense  of  mystery  and  awe 
crept  slowly  over  me  as  we  neared  the  region  of  the  vol- 
cano. At  eleven  we  arrived  at  the  Volcano  House. 

Yet,  in  a  mood  of  strange  indifference  I  gazed  across 
the  five  miles  of  flat,  dark-brown  frozen  lava  which  is  the 
roof  of  the  crater.  Ash-colored  fumes  rose  from  the  field 
of  fissures,  like  smoke  from  an  underground  village. 
Sullen,  sallow  vapors,  these.  Sulphur  banks,  tree  molds 
cast  in  frozen  lava,  empty  holes !  Nothing  within  left  to 
rot,  but  fringed  with  forests  and  brush,  sulphur-stained 
or  rooted  in  frozen  lava.  Everywhere  promise  of  vol- 
canic fury,  prophecy  of  the  end  of  the  world. 

The  road  lay  like  a  border  round  the  rim  of  an  antique 
bowl  which  had  been  baked,  cracked,  chipped,  but  shaped 
to  a  usefulness  that  is  beauty.  All  day  long  we  waited, 
watching  the  clouds  of  gray  fumes  rise  steadily,  silently, 
and  with  a  sad  disinterestedness  out  of  the  mouth  of  the 
crater. 

Frozen,  the  lava  was  the  great  bed  of  assurance,  a 
rock  of  fearlessness.  It  seemed  to  say  to  the  volcano: 
"I  can  be  indifferent.  Down  there,  deep  down,  is  your 
limitation.  Rise  out  of  the  pit  and  you  become,  like  me, 
congealed.  There,  down  in  that  deep,  is  your  only  hope 
of  life.  This  great  field  of  lifeless  lava  is  proof  of  your 
effort  to  reach  beyond  your  sphere.  So  why  fear?"  And 
there  was  no  fear. 


OUR  FRONTIER  IN  THE  PACIFIC  49 

As  night  came  on  the  gray  fumes  began  to  flush  pink 
with  the  reflection  of  the  heart  of  the  crater.  We  set  out 
in  cars  for  the  edge.  Extinct  craters  yawned  on  every 
side,  their  walls  deep  and  upright.  Some  were  over- 
grown with  green  young  trees,  but  as  we  came  nearer 
to  the  living  crater,  life  ceased.  Great  rolls  of  cloud- 
fumes  rose  from  the  gulch  to  wander  away  in  silence. 
What  a  strange  journey  to  take!  From  out  a  boiling 
pit  where  place  is  paid  for  by  furious  fighting,  where 
pressure  is  father  of  fountains  of  boiling  rock,  out  from 
struggle  and  howling  fury,  these  gases  rose  into  the 
world  of  living  matter,  into  the  world  of  wind  and  water. 
Out  of  the  pit  of  destruction  into  the  air,  never  ceasing, 
always  stirring  down  there,  rising  to  where  life  to  us  is 
death  to  it.  The  lava,  seething,  red,  shoots  aimlessly 
upward,  only  to  quell  its  own  futile  striving  in  intermit- 
tent exhaustion. 

We  stood  within  a  foot  of  the  edge.  Eight  hundred 
feet  below  us  the  lava  roared  and  spit.  In  the  night,  the 
entire  volcano  turned  a  pink  glow,  and  before  us  lay 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  of  Inferno  come  true.  The  red 
liquid  heaves  and  hisses.  Some  of  it  shoots  fully  fifty 
feet  into  the  air ;  some  is  still-born  and  forms  a  pillar  of 
black  stone  in  the  midst  of  molten  lava.  From  the  other 
corner  a  steady  stream  of  lava  issues  into  the  main  pool, 
and  the  whole  thumps  and  thuds  and  sputters  and  spouts, 
restless,  toiling  eternally. 

On  our  way  to  the  crater  we  were  talkative.  We  joked, 
burnt  paper  over  the  cracks,  discussed  volcanic  action, 
and  expressed  opinions  about  death  and  the  probability 
of  animal  consciousness  after  death.  But  as  we  turned 
away  from  the  pit  we  fell  silent.  It  was  as  though  we  had 
looked  into  the  unknown  and  had  seen  that  which  was  not 
meant  for  man  to  see.  And  the  clouds  of  fumes  contin- 
ued to  issue  calmly,  unperturbed,  with  a  dreadful  per- 
sistence. 

Just  as  our  car  groped  its  way  through  the  mists  to 


50  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

the  bend  in  the  road,  a  Japanese  stepped  before  us  with 
his  hands  outstretched.  "Help!"  he  shouted.  "Man 
killed."  We  rushed  to  his  assistance  and  found  that  a 
party  of  Japanese  in  a  Ford  had  run  off  the  road  and 
dropped  into  a  shallow  crater.  Down  on  the  frozen  bed 
below  huddled  a  group  of  men,  women,  and  children, 
terrified.  As  we  crawled  down  we  found  one  Japanese 
sitting  with  the  body  of  his  dead  companion  in  his  arms, 
pressing  his  hot  face  against  the  cold  cheek  of  his  com- 
rade. A  chill  drizzle  swept  down  into  the  dark  pit.  It 
was  a  scene  to  horrify  a  stoic.  To  the  wretched  group 
our  coming  was  a  comfort  the  richness  of  which  one  could 
no  more  describe  than  one  could  the  torture  of  lava  in 
that  pit  over  yonder. 

Japanese  are  said  to  be  fatalists.  They  hover  about 
Kilauea  year  in  and  year  out.  One  man  sat  with  a  baby 
in  his  arms,  his  feet  dangling  over  the  volcano.  Play- 
fully he  pretended  to  toss  the  child  in,  and  it  accepted  all 
as  play.  The  same  confidence  the  dead  man  had  had  in 
the  driver  whose  carelessness  had  overturned  the  car. 
And  now  it  seemed  that  his  body  belonged  in  the  larger 
pit  at  which  he  had  marveled  not  more  than  half  an  hour 
earlier. 

As  I  look  back  into  the  pit  of  memory  where  the  molten 
material,  experience,  has  its  ebb  and  flow,  I  can  still  see 
the  seething  of  rock  within  a  cup  of  stone,  the  boiling 
of  nature  within  its  own  bosom.  Where  can  one  draw 
the  line  between  experience  past  and  present?  Wherever 
I  am,  the  shooting  of  that  fountain  of  lava  is  as  real  as 
it  was  to  me  then;  nor  can  conglomerate  noises  drown 
out  the  sound  of  lava  pouring  back  into  lava,  of  under- 
mined rock  projections  crashing  with  a  hissing  sound 
back  upon  themselves.  It  is  to  me  like  the  sound  of 
voices  when  King  Kamehameha  I  forced  the  natives  of 
the  island  of  Oahu  over  the  Pali,  and  the  group  of  terri- 
fied Japanese  were  like  the  fish  in  the  coral  caves  at 


OUE  FEONTIER  IN  THE  PACIFIC  51 

Kaneohe  when  aware  of  the  approach  of  a  fish  that  feeds 
upon  them. 

Yet  there  is  a  sound  rising  clear  in  memory,  perhaps 
more  wonderful  even  than  the  shrieking  of  tortured 
human  beings  or  the  hissing  of  molten  lava.  As  I  stood 
upon  the  rim  of  Halemaumau  there  arose  the  vision  of 
Kapiolani,  the  Hawaiian  girl  who,  defying  superstition, 
ventured  down  into  the  jaws  of  the  crater  and  by  her 
courage  exorcised  Kilauea  of  its  devils.  What  in  all 
the  world  is  more  wonderful  than  frailty  imbued  with 
passion  mothering  achievement?  Kapiolani  may  be 
called  Hawaii's  Joan  of  Arc.  Unable  to  measure  her 
strength  with  men,  she  defied  their  gods.  A  world  of 
prejudice,  all  the  world  to  her,  stood  between  her  and 
Kilauea.  Courage  triumphant  had  conquered  fear.  In 
defiance  of  her  clan  and  of  her  own  terror,  she  was  the 
first  native  to  approach  the  crater,  and  in  that  she  made 
herself  the  equal  of  Kilauea.  As  she  cast  away  the 
Hawaiian  idols,  herself  emerged  an  idol. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS 


FIJI  is  to  the  Pacific  what  the  eye  is  to  the  needle. 
Swift  as  are  the  vessels  which  thread  the  largest 
ocean  on  earth,  travelers  who  do  more  than  pass  through 
Fiji  on  their  way  between  America  and  the  Antipodes 
are  few.  Yet  the  years  have  woven  more  than  a  mere 
patchwork  of  romance  round  these  islands.  In  climate 
they  are  considered  the  most  healthful  of  the  South  Sea 
groups,  though  socially  and  from  the  point  of  view  of 
our  civilization  they  do  not  occupy  the  same  place  in  our 
sentiments  as  do  Samoa,  Tahiti,  the  Marquesas,  and  the 
Sandwich  Islands.  Largely,  I  suppose,  because  of  the 
ethnological  accident  that  planted  there  a  race  of  people 
that  is  farther  from  Europeans  than  the  Polynesians. 
The  Fijians  are  Melanesians,  a  negroid  people  said  by 
some  to  be  a  "sub-branch"  of  the  Polynesians.  They 
have  been  slightly  mixed  through  their  contact  with  the 
Tongans  and  the  Samoans,  but  they  are  not  definitely 
related  to  either  and  full  mixture  is  unlikely. 

A  century  ago  a  number  of  Australian  convicts  escaped 
to  Fiji.  They  brought  to  these  savage  cannibal  island- 
ers all  the  viciousness  and  arrogance  of  their  type,  and 
imposed  themselves  upon  the  primitive  natives.  The 
effect  was  not  conducive  of  the  best  relations  between 
white  people  and  natives,  nor  did  it  have  an  elevating  in- 
fluence upon  the  latter.  However,  despite  their  canni- 
balism and  their  unwillingness  to  yield  to  the  influence 
of  our  benign  civilization,  the  Fijians  are  a  people  in 
many  ways  superior  to  both  the  Polynesians  east  of  them 

52 


THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS       53 

and  the  true  Melanesians  or  Papuans  to  the  west.  They 
are  more  moral ;  they  are  cleanly ;  their  women  occupy  a 
better  position  in  relation  to  their  men ;  and  in  character 
and  skill  they  are  superior  to  their  neighbors.  I  was 
impressed  with  this  dignity  of  the  Fijians,  conscious  and 
unconscious,  from  the  time  I  first  laid  eyes  on  them.  I 
felt  that,  notwithstanding  all  that  was  said  about  them, 
here  was  a  people  that  stood  aloof  from  mere  imitation. 

Yet  such  is  the  nature  of  reputation  that  when  I  an- 
nounced my  intention  of  breaking  my  journey  from  Hono- 
lulu to  Australia  at  Fiji,  my  fellow-passengers  were  in- 
clined to  commiserate  with  me.  They  wondered  how  one 
with  no  special  purposes — that  is,  without  a  job — could 
risk  cutting  loose  from  his  iron  moorings  in  these  savage 
isles.  Had  they  not  read  in  their  school  geographies  of 
jungles  and  savages  all  mixed  and  wild,  with  mocking 
natives  grinning  at  you  from  behind  bamboo-trees,  living 
expectations  of  a  juicy  dinner?  They  warned  me  about 
dengue  fever;  they  extolled  the  virtues  of  the  Fijian 
maidens,  and  exaggerated  the  vices  of  the  Fijian  men. 
The  word  ' '  cannibals ' '  howled  round  my  head  as  the  im- 
personal wind  had  howled  round  the  masts  of  the  steamer 
one  night.  But  the  adventurer  soon  learns  that  there  is 
none  so  unknowing  as  the  average  globe-trotters  (the 
people  who  have  been  there) ;  so  he  listens  politely  and 
goes  his  own  way. 

When,  therefore,  I  got  the  first  real  whiff  of  tropical 
sweetness,  mixed  though  it  was  with  copra  and  mold,  all 
other  considerations  vanished.  From  the  cool  heights 
the  hills  looked  down  in  pity  upon  the  little  village  of 
Suva  as  it  lay  prostrate  beneath  the  sun.  If  there  was 
any  movement  to  be  seen,  it  was  upon  the  lapping  waters 
ot  the  harbor,  where  numerous  boats  swarmed  with  black- 
bodied,  glossy-skinned  natives  in  that  universal  pursuit 
of  life  and  happiness.  As  the  Niagara  sidled  up  to  the 
pier  and  made  fast  her  hawsers,  these  black  fellows 
rushed  upon  her  deckg  and  into  the  holds  like  so  many 


54  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

ants,  and  what  had  till  then  been  inanimate  became  as 
though  possessed. 

2 

I  had  been  under  the  impression  that  the  natives  were 
all  lazy,  but  the  manner  of  their  handling  of  cargo  soon 
dissipated  that  notion.  Further  to  discredit  the  rumor- 
mongers,  three  Fijians  staged  an  attempt  to  lead  a  don- 
key ashore  which  would  have  shamed  the  most  enthusias- 
tic believer  in  the  practice  of  counting  ten  before  getting 
angry  and  trying  three  times  before  giving  up.  The 
Fijian  is  as  indifferent  to  big  as  to  little  tasks,  and  seems 
to  be  alone,  of  all  the  dwellers  in  the  tropics,  in  this 
apathetic  attitude  toward  life.  There  is  none  in  all  the 
world  more  lazy,  indolent,  and  do-nothing  than  the  white 
man.  As  soon  as  he  comes  within  sight  of  a  native  any- 
where, that  native  does  his  labor  for  him ;  you  may  count 
on  it. 

So  it  was  that  with  fear  and  trembling  I  announced  to 
the  stewards  that  I  had  a  steamer  trunk  which  I  wanted 
ashore  with  me.  They  grunted  and  growled  as  the  two 
of  them  struggled  with  it  along  the  gang-plank  and 
dropped  it  as  Atlas  might  have  been  expected  to  drop 
the  earth,  and  stood  there  with  a  contemptuous  look  of 
expectation.  I  took  out  two  half-dollars  and  handed  one 
to  each.  The  sneer  that  formed  under  their  noses  was 
well  practised,  I  could  see,  and  they  took  great  pains  to 
inform  me  that  they  were  no  niggers,  they  would  not 
take  the  trunk  another  foot.  There  it  was.  I  was  lost, 
scorned,  and  humiliated.  Why  did  I  have  so  much  worldly 
goods  to  worry  about!  Just  then  a  portly  Fijian 
stepped  up.  Beside  him  I  felt  puny,  doubly  humble  now. 
Before  I  had  time  to  decide  whether  or  not  he  was  going 
to  pick  me  up  by  the  nape  of  the  neck  and  carry  me  off  to 
a  feast,  he  took  my  trunk  instead.  Though  it  weighed 
fully  a  hundred  and  sixty-five  pounds,  it  rose  to  his  shoul- 
ders— up  there  a  foot  and  a  half  above  me — and  the  giant 
strode  along  the  pier  with  as  little  concern  as  though  it 


THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS       55 

were  empty.  The  two  stewards  stood  looking  on  with 
an  air  of  superiority  typical  of  the  white  men  among 
colored. 

I  cannot  say  that  mere  brawn  ever  entitles  any  man  to 
rank,  and  that  the  white  generally  substitutes  brain  for 
brawn  is  obvious.  But  I  failed  to  see  wherein  they  jus- 
tified their  conceit,  for  to  men  of  their  type  the  fist  is 
still  the  symbol  of  their  ideal,  as  it  is  to  the  majority 
of  white  men.  And  as  I  came  away  from  the  ship  again 
that  afternoon  I  found  a  young  steward,  a  mere  lad, 
standing  in  a  corner  crying,  his  cheek  swollen  and  red. 
I  asked  him  what  happened.  "The  steward  hit  me," 
he  said,  trying  to  restrain  himself  from  crying.  "I 
thought  I  was  through  and  went  for  my  supper  so  as 
to  get  ashore  a  bit.  He  came  up  and  asked  me  what  I 
was  doing.  I  told  him,  and  he  struck  me  with  his  fist. ' ' 
Yet  the  stewards  thought  themselves  too  good  to  do  any 
labor  with  black  men  about.  No  ship  in  a  tropical  port 
is  manned  by  the  sailors ;  there  they  take  a  vacation,  as 
it  were. 

From  the  customs  shed  to  my  hotel  the  selfsame  Fijian 
carried  my  trunk  majestically.  I  felt  hopeful  that  for 
a  time  at  least  I  should  see  the  last  of  stewards  and  their 
ilk.  But  before  I  was  two  days  in  Suva  I  learned  that 
shore  stewards  are  often  not  any  better,  and  was  happy 
to  get  farther  inland  away  from  the  port  for  the  short 
time  I  could  afford  to  spend  in  the  tropics. 

Meanwhile,  some  of  the  younger  of  my  fellow-passen- 
gers came  on  shore  and  began  doing  the  rounds,  into 
which  they  inveigled  me.  From  one  store  to  the  other 
we  went,  examining  the  moldy,  withered,  incomplete 
stocks  of  the  traders.  Magazines  stained  brown  with 
age,  cheap  paper-covered  novels,  native  strings  of  beads 
formed  part  of  the  stock  in  trade.  We  soon  exhausted 
Suva. 

At  the  corner  of  the  right  angle  made  by  Victoria 
Parade  and  the  pier  stood  a  Victoria  coach.  A  horse 


56  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

slept  on  three  legs,  in  front  of  it,  and  a  Hindu  sat  upon 
the  seat  like  a  hump  on  an  elongated  camel.  We  roused 
them  from  their  dozing  and  began  to  bargain  for  their 
hire.  Six  of  us  climbed  into  the  coach  and  slowly,  as 
though  it  were  fastened  to  the  ground,  the  horse  began  to 
move,  followed  by  the  driver,  the  carriage,  and  the  six 
of  us.  For  an  hour  we  continued  in  the  direction  in 
which  the  three  had  been  standing,  along  the  beach,  up  a 
little  knoll,  past  corrugated-iron-roofed  shacks,  and  down 
into  Suva  again ;  the  horse  stopped  with  the  carriage  be- 
hind him  in  exactly  the  same  position  in  which  we  had 
found  them,  and  driver  and  beast  went  to  sleep  again. 

Much  is  heard  these  days  about  the  effects  of  the  rail- 
road and  the  steamer  and  the  wireless  telegraph  on  the 
unity  of  the  world,  but  to  those  travelers  and  that  Hindu 
and  to  the  Fijians  whom  we  passed  en  route,  not  even  the 
insertion  of  our  six  shillings  in  the  driver's  pocket  has, 
I  am  sure,  as  much  as  left  the  faintest  impression  on  any 
of  us  except  myself.  And  on  me  it  has  left  the  impres- 
sion of  the  utter  inconsequence  of  most  traveling. 

Thus  Suva,  the  eye  of  Fiji  and  of  the  needle  of  the 
Pacific,  is  threaded,  but  there  is  nothing  to  sew.  The 
unexpected  never  happens.  There  are  no  poets  or  phi- 
losophers, no  theaters  or  cabarets  in  Suva,  as  far  as  mere 
eye  can  see, — nothing  but  smell  of  mold  and  copra  (cocoa- 
nut  oil). 

In  Suva  one  cannot  long  remain  alert.  The  sun 
is  stupefying.  The  person  just  arrived  finds  himself 
stifled  by  the  sharp  smells  all  about  him  as  though  the 
air  were  poisoned  with  too  much  life.  The  shaggy  green 
hills,  rugged  and  wild  in  the  extreme,  show  even  at  a 
distance  the  struggle  between  life  and  death  which  mo- 
ment by  moment  takes  place.  Luxuriant  as  on  the  morn- 
ing of  creation,  the  vegetation  seems  to  be  rotting  as  after 
a  period  of  death.  In  Suva  everything  smells  damp  and 
moldy.  You  cannot  get  away  from  it.  The  stores  you 
buy  in,  the  bed  you  sleep  in,  the  room  you  eat  in, — all 


THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS       57 

have  the  same  odor.  The  books  in  the  little  library  are 
eaten  full  of  holes  through  which  the  flat  bookworms 
wander  as  by  right  of  eminent  domain.  Offensive  to  the 
uninitiated  is  the  smell  of  copra.  The  swarms  of  Fijians 
who  attack  the  cargo  smell  of  it  and  glisten  with  it. 
The  boats  smell  of  it  and  the  air  is  heavy  with  it.  If 
copra  and  mold  could  be  banished  from  the  islands,  the 
impression  of  loveliness  which  is  the  essence  of  the  South 
Seas  would  remain  untainted.  Yet  to-day,  let  me  but 
get  a  whiff  of  cocoanut-oil  from  a  drug  store  and  I  ana 
immediately  transported  to  the  South  Seas  and  my  being 
goes  a-wandering. 


I  seldom  dream,  but  at  the  moment  of  waking  in 
strange  surroundings  after  an  unusual  run  of  events  my 
mind  rehearses  as  in  a  dream  the  experiences  gained  dur- 
ing consciousness.  When  the  knuckles  of  the  Fijian — 
and  he  has  knuckles — sounded  on  my  door  at  seven  to  an- 
nounce my  morning  tea,  I  woke  with  a  sense  of  heavi- 
ness, as  though  submerged  in  a  world  from  which  I  could 
never  again  escape.  At  seven-fifteen  another  Fijian 
came  for  my  laundry;  at  seven-thirty  a  third  came  for 
my  shoes.  Seeing  that  it  was  useless  to  remain  in  bed 
longer,  I  got  up.  I  was  not  many  minutes  on  the  street 
before  I  realized  the  urgency  in  those  several  early  visits. 
Daylight-saving  is  an  absolute  necessity  in  the  tropics, 
for  by  eight  or  nine  one  has  to  endure  our  noonday  sun, 
and  unless  something  is  accomplished  before  that  time 
one  must  perforce  wait  till  late  afternoon  for  another 
opportunity.  To  keep  an  ordinary  coat  on  an  ordinary 
back  in  Suva  is  like  trying  to  live  in  a  fireless  cooker 
while  angry.  Even  in  the  shade  one  is  grateful  for  white 
duck  instead  of  woolens,  so  before  long  I  had  acquired 
an  Irish  poplin  coat.  Yet  Fiji  is  one  of  the  most  health- 
ful of  the  South  Sea  islands. 

Owing  to  the  heat,  most  likely — to  give  the  white  devils 


58  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

their  due — procrastination  is  the  order  of  life.  *  *  Every- 
thing here  is  'malua,'  "  explained  the  manager  of  "The 
Fiji  Times ' '  to  me.  1 1  No  matter  what  you  want  or  whom 
you  ask  for  it,  'wait  a  bit'  will  be  the  process."  And 
he  forthwith  demonstrated,  quite  unconsciously,  that  he 
knew  whereof  he  spoke.  I  wanted  to  get  some  informa- 
tion about  the  interior  which  he  might  just  as  easily  have 
given  me  off-hand,  but  he  asked  me  to  wait  a  bit.  I 
did.  He  left  his  office,  walked  all  the  way  up  the  street 
with  me  to  show  me  a  photographer's  place  where  I 
should  be  able  to  get  what  I  was  after,  and  stood  about 
with  me  waiting  for  the  photographer  to  make  up  his 
mind  whether  he  had  the  time  to  see  me  or  not.  There  's 
no  use  rushing  anybody.  The  authorities  have  been  sev- 
eral years  trying  to  get  one  of  the  off  streets  of  Suva 
paved.  It  has  been  "worked  on, ' '  but  the  task,  turned  to 
every  now  and  then  for  half  an  hour,  requires  numerous 
rest  periods. 

In  Fiji,  every  one  moves  adagio.  The  white  man  looks 
on  and  commands;  the  Indian  coolie  slinks  about  and 
slaves ;  the  Fijian  works  on  occasion  but  generally  passes 
tasks  by  with  sporty  indifference.  Yet  there  is  no  ab- 
sence of  life.  Beginning  with  the  noise  and  confusion 
at  the  pier,  there  is  a  steady  stream  of  individuals  on 
whom  shadows  are  lost,  though  they  have  nothing  on 
them  but  their  skins  and  their  sulus.  The  Fijian  idles, 
allows  the  Indian  to  work,  happy  to  be  left  alone,  happy 
if  he  can  add  a  shilling  to  his  possessions, — an  old  vest, 
a  torn  pair  of  trousers  of  any  shape,  an  old  coat,  or  a 
stiff-bosomed  shirt  sans  coat  or  vest  or  trousers.  Tall, 
mighty,  and  picturesque,  his  coiffure  the  pride  of  his  life, 
he  watches  with  a  confidence  well  suited  to  his  origin  and 
his  race  the  changes  going  on  about  him. 

Thus,  while  his  island's  fruits  are  being  crated  and 
carted  off  by  the  ship-load  for  foreign  consumption,  he 
helps  in  the  process  for  the  mere  privilege  of  subsidized 
loafing.  All  the  fun  he  gets  out  of  trade  in  the  tropics 


THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS       59 

seems  to  be  the  opportunity  of  swearing  at  his  fellows 
in  fiji-ized  versions  of  curses  taught  him  by  the  white 
man.  Or  he  stands  erect  on  the  flat  punt  as  it  comes  in 
from  regions  unknown,  bearing  bananas  green  from  the 
tree,  the  very  picture  of  ease  and  contentment.  Yet  one 
little  tug  with  foreign  impertinence  tows  half  a  dozen 
punts,  depriving  him  even  of  this  element  of  romance 
in  his  life. 

Still,  there  is  nothing  sullen  in  his  make-up.  A  dozen 
mummy-apples — better  than  bread  to  him — tied  together 
with  a  string,  suffice  to  make  his  primitive  heart  glad. 
Primitive  these  people  are;  their  instincts,  never  led 
astray  very  far  by  such  frills  and  trappings  as  keep  us 
jogging  along  are  none  the  less  human.  Unfold  your 
camera  and  suggest  taking  a  picture  of  any  one  of 
them  and  forthwith  he  straightens  up,  transforms  his 
features,  and  adjusts  his  loin-cloth;  nor  will  he  forget 
to  brush  his  hair  with  his  hand.  What  a  strange  thing 
is  this  instinct  in  human  nature  anywhere  in  the  world 
which  substitutes  so  much  starch  for  a  slouch  the  moment 
one  sees  a  one-eyed  box  pointing  in  his  direction !  None 
ever  hoped  to  see  a  print  of  himself,  but  all  posed  as 
though  the  click  of  that  little  shutter  were  the  recipe  for 
perpetual  youth. 

The  motive  is  not  always  one  of  vanity.  Generally, 
at  the  sound  of  the  shutter,  a  hand  shoots  out  in  antici- 
pation of  reward.  In  the  tropics  it  is  no  little  task  to 
bring  oneself  together  so  suddenly,  and  the  effort  should 
be  fully  compensated.  The  expenditure  of  energy  in- 
volved in  posing  is  worthy  of  remuneration.  Neverthe- 
less, vanity  is  inherent  in  this  response.  The  Fijian  is 
a  handsome  creature,  and  he  knows  it.  He  knows  how  to 
make  his  hair  the  envy  of  the  world.  ' '  Permanent-wave ' ' 
establishments  would  go  out  of  business  here  in  America 
if  some  skilled  Fijian  could  endure  our  climate.  He 
would  give  such  permanence  to  blondes  and  brunettes 
as  would  cost  only  twenty-five  cents  and  would  really 


60  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

last.  He  would  not  plaster  the  hair  down  and  cover  it 
with  a  net  against  the  least  ruffle  of  the  wind.  When  he 
got  through  with  it  it  would  stand  straight  up  in  th£ 
air,  four  to  six  inches  long,  and  would  serve  as  an  insu- 
lator against  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun  unrivaled  any- 
where in  the  world.  While  I  squinted  and  slunk  in  the 
shade,  the  native  chose  the  open  highway.  Give  him  a 
cluster  of  breadfruit  to  carry  and  a  bank  messenger 
with  a  bag  of  bullion  could  not  seem  more  important. 

The  Fijians,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  take 
less  to  the  sentimental  in  our  civilization  than  the  Sa- 
moans,  are  a  fine  race.  Their  softness  of  nature  is  a  sur- 
prising inversion  of  their  former  ferocity.  What  one 
sees  of  them  in  Suva  helps  to  fortify  one  in  this  conclu- 
sion ;  a  visit  farther  inland  leaves  not  a  shadow  of  doubt. 
And  pretty  as  the  harbor  is,  it  is  as  nothing  compared 
with  the  loveliness  of  river  and  hills  in  the  interior. 

I  was  making  my  way  to  the  pier  in  search  of  the  launch 
that  would  take  me  up  the  Rewa  River,  when  a  giant 
Fijian  approached  me.  He  spoke  English  as  few  foreign 
to  the  tongue  can  speak  it.  A  coat,  a  watch,  and  a  cane 
— a  lordly  biped — he  did  not  hesitate  to  refer  to  his  vir- 
tues proudly.  He  answered  my  unspoken  question  as 
to  his  inches  by  assuring  me  he  was  six  feet  three  in 
his  stocking  feet  (he  wore  no  stockings)  and  was  forty- 
five  years  old.  For  a  few  minutes  we  chatted  amicably 
about  Fiji  and  its  places  of  interest.  There  was  never 
a  smug  reference  to  anything  even  suggestive  of  the  las- 
civious— as  would  have  been  the  case  with  a  guide  in 
Japan,  or  Europe — yet  he  cordially  offered  to  conduct 
and  protect  me  through  Fijiland.  Had  I  had  a  billion 
dollars  in  gold  upon  me  I  felt  that  I  might  have  put 
myself  in  his  care  anywhere  in  the  world.  But  I  was 
already  engaged  to  go  up  the  Rewa  River  and  could  not 
hire  him.  Cordially  and  generously,  as  an  old  friend 
might  have  done,  he  told  me  what  to  look  for  and  bid 
me  have  a  good  time. 


THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS       61 


I  took  the  launch  which  makes  daily  trips  up  the  Bewa, 
The  little  vessel  was  black  with  natives — outside,  inside, 
everywhere,  streaming  over  to  the  pier.  It  was  owned 
and  operated  by  an  Englishman  named  Message.  Even 
in  the  traffic  on  this  river  combination  threatens  indi- 
vidual enterprise.  ' '  The  company  has  several  launches. 
It  runs  them  on  schedule  time,  stopping  only  at  special 
stations,  regardless  of  the  convenience  to  the  Fijians. 
It  is  trying  to  force  me  out  of  business,"  said  Mr.  Mes- 
sage, a  look  of  troubled  defiance  in  his  face.  "But  I  am 
just  as  determined  to  beat  it." 

So  he  operates  his  launch  to  suit  the  natives,  winning 
their  good- will  and  patronage.  It  was  interesting  to  see 
how  his  method  worked.  No  better  lesson  in  the  instinc- 
tive tendency  toward  cooperation  and  mutual  aid  could 
be  found.  He  had  no  white  assistant,  but  every  Fijian 
who  could  find  room  on  the  launch  constituted  himself  a 
longshoreman.  They  enjoyed  playing  with  the  launch. 
They  helped  in  the  work  of  loading  and  unloading  one 
another's  petty  cargo,  such  as  kerosene,  corrugated  iron 
for  roofing  (which  is  everywhere  replacing  thatch),  and 
odd  sticks  of  wood.  And  the  jollity  that  electrified  them 
was  a  delightful  commentary  on  this  one  white  man's 
humanity. 

Delight  rides  at  a  spirited  pace  on  this  river  Bewa. 
The  banks  are  seldom  more  than  a  couple  of  feet  above 
the  water.  The  launch  makes  straight  for  the  shore 
wherever  a  Fijian  recognizes  his  hut,  and  he  scrambles 
off  as  best  he  can.  Here  and  there  round  the  bends  na- 
tives in  takias  (somewhat  like  outrigger  canoes  with  mat 
sails,  now  seldom  used),  punts,  or  rowboats  slip  by  in 
the  twilight. 

The  sun  had  set  by  the  time  all  the  little  stops  had  been 
made  between  Suva  and  Davuilevu,  the  last  stopping- 
place.  Each  man,  as  he  stepped  from  this  little  float 


62  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

of  modernism,  clambered  up  the  bank  and  disappeared 
amid  the  sugar-cane.  What  a  world  of  romance  and 
change  he  took  into  the  dark-brown  hut  he  calls  his  own ! 
What  news  of  the  world  must  he  not  have  brought  back 
with  him!  A  commuter,  he  had  probably  gone  in  by 
that  morning's  launch,  in  which  case  he  spent  three  full 
hours  in  "toil"  or  in  the  purchase  of  a  sheet  of  corru- 
gated iron  or  a  tin  of  oil.  He  may  have  helped  himself 
to  a  shirt  from  somebody's  clothes-line  in  the  spare  time 
left  him.  One  thing  was  certain,  there  were  no  choco- 
lates in  his  pockets,  for  he  had  no  pockets,  and  I  saw  no 
young  woman  holding  a  baby  in  her  arms  for  daddy  to 
greet. 

Yet  even  from  a  distance  one  recognized  something  of 
family  affection.  To  enter  and  examine  closely  would 
perhaps  have  made  a  difference  in  my  impressions.  I 
was  content  with  these  hazy  pictures,  to  see  these  dark- 
skinned  people  merge  with  their  brown-thatched  huts  cur- 
tained by  shadows  within  the  cane-fields.  When  night 
came  on  all  was  dissolved  in  shadow,  and  voices  in  song 
rose  on  the  cool  air. 


The  Rewa  River  runs  between  two  antagonistic  insti- 
tutions. At  Davuilevu  (the  Great  Conch-Shell)  there  is 
a  mission  station  on  one  side  and  a  sugar-mill  on  the 
other.  Both  are  deeply  affecting  the  character  and  en- 
vironment of  the  Fijians,  yet  the  contrast  in  the  results 
is  too  obvious  to  be  overlooked  by  even  the  most  casual 
observer. 

As  I  stepped  off  the  boat  a  young  New  Zealander 
whose  cousin  had  come  down  with  us  on  the  Niagara 
and  whom  I  had  met  the  day  of  our  arrival  in  Suva, 
came  out  of  a  building  across  the  road.  He  was  con- 
ducting a  class  in  carpentry  composed  of  young  Fijian 
students  of  the  mission.  They  were  so  absorbed  in  their 
work  that  they  barely  noticed  me,  and  the  atmosphere 


THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS       63 

of  sober  earnestness  about  the  place  was  thrilling.  From 
time  out  of  mind  the  Fijians  have  been  good  carpenters, 
the  craft  being  passed  down  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion within  a  special  caste.  Their  shipbuilding  has  always 
been  superior  to  that  of  their  neighbors,  the  Tongans. 
It  was  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  the  main 
department  here  should  be  that  of  wood-turning,  and 
isome  of  the  work  the  students  were  doing  at  the  time 
was  exceptionally  fine. 

The  buildings  of  the  mission  had  all  been  constructed 
with  native  labor  under  the  direction  of  the  missionaries. 
They  were  simply  but  firmly  built,  the  absence  of  archi- 
tectural richness  being  due  fully  as  much  to  the  spirit 
of  the  missionaries  as  to  the  lack  of  decorativeness  in 
the  character  of  the  natives. 

However,  there  was  something  to  be  found  at  the  mis- 
sion which  was  harshly  lacking  at  the  sugar-mill.  The 
students  moved  about  in  a  leisurely  manner,  cleanly  and 
thoughtful;  whereas  across  the  river  not  only  were  the 
buildings  of  the  very  crudest  possible,  but  the  Hindus 
and  the  Fijians  roamed  around  like  sullen,  hungry  curs 
always  expecting  a  kick.  Those  who  were  not  sullen, 
were  obviously  tired,  spiritless,  and  repressed.  Their 
huts  were  set  close  to  one  another  in  rows,  whereas  the 
mission  buildings  range  over  the  hills.  The  crowding 
at  the  mill,  upon  such  vast  open  spaces,  gave  the  little 
village  all  the  faults  of  a  tenement  district.  Bacial  clan- 
nishness  seems  to  require  even  closer  touch  where  space 
is  wide.  The  very  expanse  of  the  world  seems  to  intensify 
the  fear  of  loneliness,  so  men  huddle  closer  to  sense 
somewhat  of  the  gregarious  delights  of  over-populated 
India.  But  there  is  also  the  squeezing  of  plantation- 
owners  here  at  fault,  and  the  total  disregard  of  the  needs 
of  individual  employees. 

The  mill  is  worked  day  and  night,  in  season,  but  it  is 
at  night  that  one's  reactions  to  it  are  most  impressive. 
The  street  lamps,  assisted  by  a  dim  glow  from  within 


64  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

the  shacks,  the  monotonous  invocation  of  prayer  by 
Indians  squatting  before  the  wide-open  doors,  the  tiny 
kava  "saloons,"  and  the  great,  giant,  grinding,  grating 
sugar-mills  crushing  the  juice  out  of  the  cane  and  pre- 
cipitating it  (after  a  chain  of  processes)  in  white  dust 
for  sweetening  the  world,  are  something  never  to  be  for- 
gotten. The  deep,  pulsating  breath  of  the  mill  sounded 
like  the  snore  of  a  sleeping  monster.  Yet  that  monstrous 
mill  never  sleeps. 

The  sound  did  not  cease,  but  rather,  became  more  pro- 
nounced after  I  returned  that  night.  Deeply  imprinted 
on  my  memory  was  the  figure  of  a  sullen-looking  Indian 
at  his  post — small,  wiry,  persistent — with  the  whirring  of 
machinery  all  about  him,  the  steaming  vats,  the  broken 
sticks  of  cane  being  crunched  in  the  maw  of  the  machine. 
The  toilers  sometimes  dozed  at  their  tasks.  I  was  told 
that  once  an  Indian  fell  into  one  of  the  vats  in  a  moment 
of  dizzy  slumber.  The  cynical  informer  insisted  that  the 
management  would  not  even  stop  the  process  of  turning 
cane  into  sugar,  and  that  into  the  tea-cups  of  the  world 
was  mixed  the  substance  of  that  man.  My  reflection  was 
along  different  lines, — that  into  the  sweets  of  the  world 
we  were  constantly  mixing  the  souls  of  men. 


But  unfortunately  those  who  look  after  the  souls  of 
these  men  at  the  mission  are  apt  to  forget  that  they  have 
bodies,  too,  and  that  body  is  the  materialization  of  desire. 
There  is  something  wonderful,  indeed,  in  the  sight  of 
men  known  to  have  been  of  the  most  ferocious  of  human 
creatures  going  about  their  daily  affairs  in  an  attitude 
of  great  reverence  to  the  things  of  life.  And  reverence 
added  to  the  extreme  shyness  of  the  Fijian  is  writ  large 
in  the  manner  of  every  native  across  the  way  from  the 
mill.  Sometimes  I  felt  that  there  was  altogether  too 
much  restraint,  too  much  checking  of  wholesome  and 


A  CORNER  OF  SUVA,   FIJI 
The  unexpected  happened — the  cab  moved 


FOOD   FOR   A   DAY'S   GOSSIP 


THE   LOXG   AND   THE   SHORT   OF   IT 
My  Fijian  guides 


A    HINDU   PATRIARCH 
On  board  the  launch  going  up  the  Itewa  River,  with  shy  Fijians  all  about 


THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS       65 

healthy  impulses  among  them  for  it  to  be  true  reverence. 
That  was  especially  marked  on  Sunday  morning,  when 
from  all  the  corners  of  the  mission  fields  gathered  the 
sturdy  black  men  in  the  center  of  the  grounds  where 
stood  the  little  church. 

They  were  a  sight  to  behold,  altogether  too  seriously 
concerned  to  be  amusing,  and  to  the  unbiased  the  acme 
of  gentleness.  There  they  were — muscular,  huge,  erect, 
and  black,  their  bushy  crops  of  coarse  hair  adding  six 
inches  to  their  heads;  dressed  in  sulus  neatly  tucked 
away,  and  stiff-bosomed  white  shirts  over  their  bodies. 
Starched  white  shirts  in  the  tropics!  And  the  Bible  in 
Fijian  in  their  hands.  In  absolute  silence  they  made 
their  way  into  the  church,  the  shuffle  of  their  unshod  feet 
adding  intensity  to  that  silence.  When  they  raised  their 
voices  in  the  hymns  it  seemed  to  me  that  nothing  more 
sincere  had  ever  been  sung  in  life.  But  then  something 
occurred  which  made  me  wonder. 

From  the  Solomon  Islands  had  come  on  furlough  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Eyecrof t  and  his  delicate  wife.  He  was  a  man 
of  very  gentle  bearing  and  great  fervor.  He  and 
his  plucky  wife  had  suffered  much  for  their  convictions. 
All  men  who  really  believe  anything  suffer.  The  mis- 
sionary is  as  much  anathema  in  his  field  as  the  anarchist 
is  in  America,  and  is  generally  as  violent  an  agent  for 
the  disruption  of  custom.  Mr.  Eyecroft  rose  to  speak 
before  the  congregation.  He  spoke  in  English  and  was 
interpreted  by  the  missionary  in  charge.  He  told  of 
his  trials  in  the  Solomon  Islands,  and  appealed  for  Fijian 
missionaries  to  go  back  with  him  and  save  the  blood- 
thirsty Solomons.  I  watched  the  faces  of  these  converted 
Fijians.  Some  of  them  were  intent  upon  the  speaker, 
repugnance  at  the  cruelties  rehearsed  coming  over  them 
as  at  something  of  which  they  were  more  afraid  as  a 
possible  revival  in  themselves  than  as  an  objective  dan- 
ger. Some,  however,  fell  fast  asleep,  their  languid  heads 
drooping  to  one  side.  I  am  no  mind-reader,  nor  is  my 


66  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

observation  to  be  taken  for  more  than  mere  guess-work, 
but  I  felt  that  there  were  two  conflicting  thoughts  in  the 
minds  of  the  listeners,  for  while  Mr.  Byecroft  was  urging 
them  to  come  arrest  brutality  in  the  Solomons  there  were 
other  recruiters  at  work  in  Fiji  for  service  in  Europe. 
While  one  told  that  the  savage  Solomon  Islanders 
swooped  down  upon  the  missionary  compound  and  left 
sixteen  dead  behind  them,  in  Europe  they  were  leaving 
a  thousand  times  as  many  every  day,  worse  than  dead. 
To  whom  were  they  to  listen? 

That  afternoon  Mr.  Waterhouse,  one  of  the  mission- 
aries, asked  me  to  give  the  young  men  a  little  talk  on 
my  travels,  he  to  interpret  for  me.  I  asked  him  what  he 
would  like  to  have  me  tell  them  and  he  urged  me  to  advise 
them  not  to  give  up  their  lands.  I  complied,  pointing 
out  to  them  how  quickly  they  would  go  under  as  a  race 
if  they  did  so.  The  response  was  more  than  compen- 
sating. 

The  outlook  is  all  the  more  reassuring  when  you  sit 
of  an  evening  as  I  did  in  the  large,  carefully  woven  native 
house,  elliptical  in  shape,  with  thatched  roof  and  soft- 
matted  floors,  which  serves  as  a  sort  of  night  school  for 
little  tots.  The  children,  who  were  then  rehearsing 
some  dances  for  the  coming  festival,  sat  on  tiers  of 
benches  so  built  that  one  child's  feet  were  on  a  level 
with  the  shoulders  of  the  one  in  front.  Like  a  palisade 
of  stars  their  bright  eyes  glistened  with  the  reflections 
of  the  light  from  the  kerosene  lamps  hanging  on  wires 
from  the  rafters.  Lolohea  Eatu,  a  girl  of  twenty,  edu- 
cated in  Sydney,  Australia,  spoke  to  them  in  a  plaintive, 
modulated  voice,  soft  and  low.  All  Fijian  voices  are 
sad,  but  hers  was  slightly  sadder  than  most  of  them, 
tinged,  it  seemed,  with  knowledge  of  the  world.  She  had 
studied  the  Montessori  method  and  was  trying  to  train 
her  little  brothers  and  sisters  thereby.  But  she  was  not 
forgetful  of  what  is  lovely  in  her  own  race,  primitive  as 
it  is,  and  was  preparing  these  children  in  something  of 


THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS       67 

a  compromise  between  native  and  foreign  dances.  Bound 
and  round  the  room  they  marched,  the  overhanging  lamps 
playing  pranks  with  their  shadows.  Others  sat  upon 
the  mats,  legs  crossed,  beating  time  and  clapping  hands 
in  the  native  fashion.  Their  glistening  bodies  and  spar- 
kling, mischievous  eyes,  their  response  to  the  enchanting 
rhythm  and  melody  borrowed  from  a  world  as  strange 
to  them  as  theirs  is  to  us,  showed  their  delight.  I  won- 
dered what  strange  images — ghostly  pale  folk — they 
were  seeing  through  our  songs.  Perhaps  the  music  was 
merely  another  kind  of  " savage"  song  to  them,  even  a 
wee  bit  wilder  than  their  own.  On  the  following  day 
they  were  to  sing  and  dance  to  the  amazement  of  their 
skeptical  elders. 

Thus  does  Fijian  "civilization"  steer  its  uncertain 
course  between  the  two  contending  influences  from  the 
West — the  planters  and  the  missionaries — just  as  the 
river  Bewa  runs  between  them  over  the  jungle  plains, 
struggling  to  supplant  wild  entangling  growths  with 
earth  culture. 


And  that  "civilization"  leans  at  one  time  toward  the 
mill  and  at  another  toward  the  mission.  Frankly,  Fiji 
grows  more  interesting  as  one  gets  away  from  these  two 
guy-wires  and  floats  on  the  sluggish  river.  My  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  that  Fiji  which  is  least  confused  by  either 
influence  came  unexpectedly.  The  missionaries  gener- 
ously invited  me  to  go  with  them  up  the  river  in  their 
launch  early  Monday  morning.  Everywhere  along  the 
banks  of  the  broad,  deep  stream  stood  groups  of  huts 
and  villages  amid  the  sugar-cane  fields.  I  gazed  up  the 
wide  way  of  the  river  toward  the  hazy  blue  mountains 
which  stood  fifty  miles  away.  They  seemed  to  be  a  thou- 
sand miles  and  farther  still  from  reality.  The  Hima- 
layas which  lured  the  Lama  priest  and  Kim  could  not 
have  been  more  enticing.  Because  of  the  cloying  at- 


68  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

mosphere  of  the  day,  this  distant  coolness  was  like  an 
oasis  in  the  desert,  and  I  longed  for  some  phantom  ship 
to  bear  me  away  on  the  breeze. 

For  twenty  miles  we  glided  on  through  cane  planta- 
tions, banana-  and  cocoanut-trees,  and  miniature  pali- 
sades here  and  there  rising  to  the  dignity  of  hills.  We 
landed,  toward  noon,  at  a  village  which  stood  on  a  little 
plateau, — quiet,  self-satisfied,  though  in  no  way  elabo- 
rate. The  best  of  the  huts  stood  against  the  hill  across 
the  "  street "  formed  by  two  rows  of  thatch-roofed  and 
leaf-walled  huts.  It  belonged  to  the  native  Christian 
teacher.  He  turned  it  over  to  us,  himself  and  his  wife 
and  baby  disappearing  while  we  lunched.  Much  of  our 
repast  remaining,  the  missionary  offered  it  to  the 
teacher,  but  I  noticed  that  he  looked  displeased  and 
turned  the  platter  over  to  the  flock  of  children  which 
had  gathered  outside, — a  brood  of  little  fellows,  their 
bellies  bulging  out  before  them,  not  even  the  shadow  of  a 
garment  covering  their  nakedness. 

I  returned  to  the  hut  a  little  later  for  my  camera,  not 
knowing  that  any  one  was  there.  Inside,  in  one  corner, 
lay  the  teacher's  wife,  stretched  face  downward,  nursing 
her  baby,  which  lay  on  its  back  upon  the  soft  mats.  She 
smiled,  slightly  embarrassed,  and  I  withdrew.  Here, 
then,  was  the  place  where  civilization  and  savagery  met. 

There  were  few  Fijians  in  the  village,  mostly  children 
and  several  old  women.  A  Solomon  Islander,  who  had 
got  there  during  the  days  when  blackbirding  or  kidnap- 
ping was  common,  moved  among  them.  He  had  quite 
forgotten  his  own  language  and  could  not  understand 
Mr.  Byecroft  when  the  missionary  spoke  to  him.  An 
elderly  man  beckoned  to  me  from  his  hut  and  there  of- 
fered to  sell  me  a  heavy,  ebony  carved  club  that  could 
kill  an  ox,  swearing  by  all  the  taboos  that  it  was  a  sacred 
club  and  had  killed  many  a  man  in  his  father's  time. 

A  narrow  path  climbing  the  hill  close  behind  the  vil- 
lage led  us  to  a  view  over  the  long  sweep  of  the  river 


A  FIJIAN   MAIN   STREET 
The  corrugated  iron-roofed  shack  is  the  one  we  ate  our  lunch  in 


LITTLE   FIJIANS 
The  only  things  some  of  these  had  on  were  sores  on  the  tops  of  their  heads 


THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS       69 

and  its  valley.  The  utmost  of  peace  and  tranquillity 
hung,  without  a  tremor,  below  us.  Twenty  huts  fringed 
the  plateau,  forming  a  vague  ellipse,  interwoven  with 
lovely  salvias,  coleuses,  and  begonias.  The  village  seemed 
to  have  been  caught  in  the  crook  of  the  river,  while  a 
field  of  sugar-cane  filled  the  plain  across  the  stream, 
the  shaggy  mountains  quartering  it  from  the  rear.  Dis- 
tant, reaching  toward  the  sun,  ranged  the  mountains 
from  which  the  river  is  daily  born  anew. 

As  our  launch  chugged  steadily,  easily  down-stream, 
and  the  evening  shadows  overstepped  the  sun,  Fiji 
emerged  fresh  and  sweet  as  I  had  not  seen  it  before.  The 
missionaries,  till  then  sober  and  reserved,  relaxed,  the 
men's  heads  in  the  laps  of  their  wives.  Sentimental 
songs  of  long  ago,  like  a  stream  of  soft  desire  through 
the  years,  supplanted  precept  in  their  minds,  and  I  re- 
alized for  the  first  time  why  some  men  chose  to  be  mis- 
sionaries. It  was  to  them  no  hardship.  The  trials  and 
sufferings  were  romance  to  their  natures,  and  the  giving 
up  of  everything  for  Christ  was  after  all  only  living  out 
that  world-old  truism  that  in  order  to  have  life  one  must 
be  ready  to  surrender  it. 

8 

Next  day  Mr.  "Waterhouse  and  I  wandered  about  the 
village  of  the  sugar  factory.  At  the  bidding  of  several 
minor  chiefs  who  had  described  a  circle  on  the  mats,  we 
entered  one  of  the  dark  huts  by  way  of  a  low  door.  In  a 
corner  a  woman  tended  the  open  fire,  and  near  an  opening 
a  girl  sat  munching.  The  room  was  thick  with  smoke, 
the  thin  reeds  supporting  the  roof  glistening  with  soot. 
Everything  was  in  order  and  according  to  form.  They 
were  making  kava  (or  ava  or  yangana),  the  native  drink. 
This  used  to  be  the  work  of  the  chieftain's  daughter,  who 
ground  the  ava  root  with  her  teeth  and  then  mixed  it 
with  water.  The  law  does  n't  permit  this  now;  so  it  is 


70  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

crushed  in  a  mortar  (tonod).  Specialization  has  reached 
out  its  tentacles  even  to  this  place,  so  that  now  the  cap- 
tain of  this  industry  is  an  Indian. 

The  ava  mixed,  it  was  passed  round  in  a  well-scraped 
cocoanut-shell  cut  in  half.  As  guests  we  were  offered 
the  first  drink.  Extremely  bitter,  it  is  nevertheless  re- 
freshing. After  I  made  a  pretense  of  drinking,  the 
bowl  was  passed  to  the  most  respected  chief.  With 
gracious  self-restraint  he  declined  it.  "This  is  too  full. 
You  have  given  me  altogether  too  much."  A  little  bit 
of  it  was  poured  back,  and  he  drank  it  with  one  gulp. 
He  would  really  have  liked  twice  as  much,  not  half,  but 
there  is  more  modesty  and  decorum  among  savages  than 
we  imagine.  In  fact,  our  conventions  are  often  only 
atrophied  taboos. 

But  the  women,  not  so  handsome  nor  so  elegantly 
coifed  as  the  men,  were  excluded  from  a  share  in  the 
toast.  They  were  not  even  part  of  the  entertainment. 
The  sexes  seldom  meet  in  any  form  of  social  intercourse. 
The  boys  never  flirt  with  the  girls,  nor  do  they  ever  seem 
to  notice  them.  In  public  there  is  a  never-diminishing 
distance  between  them.  A  world  without  love-making, 
primitive  life  is  outwardly  not  so  romantic  as  is  ours. 
The  "romance"  is  generally  that  of  the  foreigner  with 
the  native  women,  not  among  the  natives  themselves. 

The  daughter  of  the  biggest  living  Fijian  chief  wan- 
dered about  like  an  outcast.  She  wore  a  red  Mother- 
Hubbard  gown,  and  nothing  else.  Her  hair  hung  down 
to  her  shoulders.  Having  gone  through  the  process  of 
discoloration  by  the  application  of  lime,  according  to  the 
custom  among  the  natives  in  the  tropics,  it  was  reddish 
and  stiff,  but,  being  long,  had  none  of  the  leonine  quality 
of  the  men's  hair.  Andi  Cacarini  (Fijian  for  Katherine), 
daughter  of  a  modern  chief,  spoke  fairly  good  English. 
She  wasn't  exactly  ashamed,  but  just  shy.  The  better 
class  of  Fijians,  they  who  have  come  in  contact  with  white 


THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS       71 

people,  all  manifest  a  timid  reticence.  Andi  Cacarini 
was  shy,  but  hardly  what  one  could  call  bashful  or  fastid- 
ious. She  posed  for  me  as  though  an  artist's  model, 
not  at  all  ungraceful  in  her  carriage  or  her  walk. 

The  male  Fijian  is  extremely  timid,  but  none  the  less 
fastidious.  The  care  with  which  he  trains  and  curls  his 
hair  would  serve  as  an  object-lesson  to  the  impatient 
husband  of  the  vainest  of  white  women.  This  does  n  't 
mean  that  the  Fijian  man  is  effeminate  in  his  ways,  but 
he  is  particular  about  his  hair.  The  process  of  discolor- 
ing it  is  exact.  A  mixture  of  burnt  coral  with  water 
makes  a  fine  substitute  for  soap.  When  washed  out  and 
dried,  the  hair  is  curled  and  combed  and  anointed.  From 
the  point  of  view  of  sanitation,  the  treatment  is  excel- 
lent, and  from  that  of  art — just  watch  the  proud  male 
pass  down  the  road! 

No  matter  where  one  goes  in  Fiji — or  any  of  the  South 
Sea  Islands — the  dance  goes  with  one.  Here  at  Davui- 
levu  one  afternoon  in  the  hot,  scorching  sun,  the  natives 
gathered  on  the  turf  for  merrymaking.  It  was  no  special 
holiday,  no  unusual  event.  To  our  way  of  thinking  it  is 
a  tame  sort  of  dance  they  do.  We  hear  much  of  the 
freedom  between  the  sexes  in  the  tropics,  and  one  gains 
the  impression  that  there  are  absolutely  no  taboos.  But 
just  as  there  is  nothing  in  all  Japan — however  delight- 
ful— to  compensate  the  child,  or  even  grown-ups,  for  the 
lack  of  the  kiss,  so  none  of  the  Fijian  dances  fill  that 
same  emotional  requirement  which  with  us  is  secured 
through  the  embrace  of  men  and  women  in  the  dance. 
From  the  Fijian  point  of  view,  the  whirling  of  couples 
about  together  must  be  extremely  immodest,  if  not  im- 
moral. 

Sitting  in  a  double  row,  one  in  front  of  the  other,  were 
oiled  and  garlanded  Fijians.  Behind  them  and  in  a  cir- 
cle sat  a  number  of  singers  and  lali-players.  As  they 
began  beating  time,  the  oiled  natives  began  to  move  from 
side  to  side  rhythmically.  Their  arms  and  bodies  jerked 


72  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

in  a  most  fascinating  and  interpretative  manner.  No 
voices  in  the  wide  world  are  lovelier  than  the  voices  of 
Fijians  in  chorus ;  no  other  music  issues  so  purely  as  the 
Fijian  music  from  the  depths  of  racial  experience.  Some- 
times the  dancers  swung  half-way  round  from  side  to 
side,  with  arms  akimbo,  or  extended  their  arms  in  all  di- 
rections, clapping  their  hands  while  chanting  in  sooth- 
ing, melodious  deep  tones. 

Judging  from  what  I  heard  of  the  music  of  the  Ton- 
gans,  the  Samoans,  and  the  Fijians,  I  give  the  prize  to 
the  Fijians  for  richness  of  tone.  More  primitive  than 
the  plaintive  Tongans,  the  Fijian  music  is  a  weird  com- 
bination of  the  intellectual,  the  martial,  and  the  indus- 
trial,— more  fascinating  than  the  passionate,  voluptuous 
tunes  and  dances  of  the  Samoans  and  the  Hawaiians. 
The  Polynesians,  probably  because  of  their  close  kinship 
with  the  Europeans,  are  much  more  sentimental  in  their 
music.  The  Fijian  is  more  vigorous  and  to  me  more 
truly  artistic. 

No  study,  it  seems  to  me,  would  throw  more  light  on 
the  history  and  unity  of  the  human  race  than  that  of  the 
dance  and  music.  Why  two  races  so  far  apart  as  the 
Japanese  and  the  Maories  of  New  Zealand  should  be  so 
strikingly  alike  in  their  cruder  dances,  is  hard  to  say. 
And  the  Fijians  seem  in  some  way  the  link  between  these 
two.  The  Fijian  doubtless  inherits  some  of  his  musical 
qualities  from  his  negroid  mixture,  but  he  has  certainly 
improved  upon  it  if  that  is  so.  He  has  no  regrets,  no 
sentimental  longings,  and  in  consequence  his  songs  are 
free  from  racial  affectation. 

The  Fijians  always  sing.  The  instant  the  day's  work 
is  done  and  groups  form  they  begin  to  sing.  Half  a 
dozen  of  them  sit  down  and  cross  their  legs  before  them, 
each  places  a  stick  so  that  one  end  rests  lightly  on  one 
toe,  the  other  on  the  ground;  and  while  they  tap  upon 
these  sticks,  others  sing  and  clap  hands,  swaying  in  an 
enchantment  of  loveliness.  One  carries  the  melody  in  a 


THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS       73 

strained  tenor,  the  others  support  him  with  a  bass  drawl. 
Once  in  a  while  an  instrument  is  secured,  as  a  flute,  and 
the  ensemble  is  complete.  Even  the  tapping  on  the 
stick  becomes  instrumental  in  its  quality. 

As  the  day  draws  to  a  close,  from  the  cane-fields  smoke 
rises  in  all  directions.  The  plantation  workers  have 
gathered  piles  of  cane  refuse  for  destruction.  Like  min- 
iature volcanoes,  these,  with  the  coming  of  darkness, 
shine  in  the  lightless  night.  It  makes  one  slightly  sad, 
this  clearing  away  of  the  remnants  of  daily  toil,  this 
purification  by  fire.  Then  the  sound  of  that  other  lali 
(the  hollow  tree-trunk),  once  the  war-alarum  or  call  to  a 
cannibal  feast,  now  at  Davuilevu  the  invitation  to  prayer, 
the  dampness,  and  the  sense  of  crowding  things  in 
growth, — this  is  what  will  ever  remain  vivid  to  me. 


Poor  untroubled  Fijians!  This  simple  love  of  har- 
mony, a  majestic  sense  of  force  and  brutality, — yet, 
withal,  so  naive,  withal  so  easily  satisfied,  so  easily  led. 
Once  a  foreigner  met  a  native  who  seemed  in  great  haste 
and  trembling.  The  native  inquired  the  time,  in  dread 
lest  he  miss  the  launch  for  Suva.  In  his  hand  he  carried 
a  warrant  for  his  own  arrest,  with  instructions  to  present 
himself  at  jail.  "When  the  foreigner  told  him  that  it 
was  up  to  the  jailer  to  worry  about  it,  he  seemed  greatly 
shocked.  One  of  the  missionaries  had  been  asked  to 
keep  his  eye  on  a  friend 's  house.  In  the  absence  of  the 
owner,  the  missionary  found  a  Fijian  in  the  act  of  bur- 
glarizing. When  questioned  it  was  found  that  the  native 
wanted  to  get  into  jail,  where  he  was  sure  of  three  meals 
and  shade,  without  worry.  This  is  almost  worthy  of 
civilized  man,  by  whom  it  is  perhaps  more  commonly 
practised. 

But  the  kind  of  jail  in  which  men  were  at  that  time 
incarcerated  was  not  enough  to  frighten  the  most  liberty- 


74  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

loving  individual.  Because  of  the  humidity  and  damp- 
ness, the  structure  was  left  open  on  one  side,  only  three 
substantial  walls  and  a  roof  being  practical.  Before  the 
white  man  got  full  control  and  the  native  had  some  iron 
injected  into  his  nature,  it  was  not  an  arduous  life  the 
prisoners  led.  The  missionary  told  me  that  once  the 
head  jailer  was  found  sitting  out  of  sight,  with  the  officer 
in  charge  of  the  prisoners,  tilting  his  chair  against  the 
wall  of  the  jail.  The  prisoners  had  been  ordered  to 
labor.  The  officer  in  charge  was  to  execute  the  com- 
mand. Between  puffs  of  tobacco,  he  would  shout:  "Up 
shot ! ' '  and  rest  a  while ;  then  '  *  Down  shot ! ' ' — more  rest. 
Not  a  prisoner  moved  a  muscle,  the  weights  never  rose 
from  the  ground.  The  men  were  deep  within  the 
shadows.  The  period  of  punishment  over,  they  were  or- 
dered into  their  heaven  of  still  more  rest  and  more  shade. 

From  our  way  of  thinking,  these  are  flagrant  decep- 
tions. But  to  the  Fijian  (and  to  most  South  Sea  races) 
the  inducements  for  greater  exertion  are  simply  non- 
existent. His  revelries  have  been  tabooed,  his  wars 
have  been  stopped,  his  native  arts  are  in  constant  com- 
petition with  cheap  importations  from  our  commercial- 
ized, industrialized  world.  What  is  there,  then,  for  him 
to  do?  Little  wonder  that  his  native  indifference  to  life 
is  growing  upon  him.  His  conception  of  life  after  death 
never  held  many  horrors.  Even  in  the  fierce  old  days  it 
was  easy  for  a  Fijian  to  announce  most  casually  that  he 
would  die  at  eight  o'clock  the  following  day.  He  would 
be  oiled  and  made  ready,  and  at  the  stated  time  he  died. 
Most  likely  a  state  of  catalepsy,  but  he  was  buried  and 
none  thought  a  second  time  about  it.  One  boy  was  re- 
cently roused  from  such  a  condition  and  still  lives. 

The  only  means  of  counteracting  this  apathy  are  edu- 
cation and  the  awakening  of  ambition  through  manual 
training  and  the  teaching  of  trades.  This,  the  head  of 
the  mission  told  me,  was  his  main  object.  Missionary 
efforts,  according  to  one  man,  were  directed  more  to  this 


THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS       75 

purpose  than  to  the  inculcation  of  any  special  religious 
precepts.  And  there  is  no  question  that  that  will  work. 
The  will  to  live  may  yet  spring  afresh  in  the  Fijian. 

From  the  nucleus  formed  by  the  mission  is  growing  a 
more  elaborate  educational  system.  Recently  the  several 
existing  schools  have  been  amalgamated  under  a  new  or- 
dinance. A  proposal  in  reference  to  a  more  efficient  sys- 
tem of  vernacular  or  sub-primary  schools  was  embodied 
in  a  bill  put  before  the  legislative  council.  A  more  satis- 
factory method  of  training  teachers  was  deliberated  upon. 
The  Fijians  are,  it  is  seen,  outgrowing  the  kindergarten 
stage,  but  the  grown-ups  are  largely  children  still. 

10 

A  fortnight  after  I  landed  in  Suva  I  was  steaming  for 
Levuka,  the  former  capital  of  the  islands,  situated  on 
a  much  smaller  land-drop  not  many  hours '  journey  away. 
These  are  the  only  two  important  ports  in  the  group, 
and  inter-island  vessels  seldom  go  to  one  without  visit- 
ing the  other.  Levuka  is  a  much  prettier  place  than 
Suva.  Its  little  clusters  of  homes  and  buildings  seem 
to  have  dug  their  heels  into  the  hillside  to  keep  from 
sliding  into  the  sea. 

Along  the  shore  to  the  left  stood  a  group  of  Fijian 
huts, — a  suburb  of  Levuka,  no  doubt.  Only  a  few  old 
women  were  at  home,  and  one  old  man.  Nothing  in  the 
wide  world  is  more  restful  to  one 's  spirit  than  to  arrive 
at  a  village  which  is  deserted  of  toilers.  Nothing  is 
more  symbolic  of  the  true  nature  of  home,  the  village 
being  more  than  an  isolated  home,  but  a  composite  of 
the  home  spirit  which  is  not  tainted  by  any  evidence  of 
barter  and  trade. 

On  the  other  side  of  Levuka,  however,  was  an  alto- 
gether different  kind  of  village,  that  of  the  shipwrights. 
Upon  dry-docks  stood  the  skeletons  of  ships,  fashioned 
with  hands  of  love  and  ambition.  In  such  vessels  these 


76  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

ancient  rovers  of  the  sea  wandered  from  island  to  island, 
learning,  teaching,  mixing,  and  disturbing  the  sweetness 
of  nature,  with  which  no  race  on  earth  was  more  blessed. 

The  Atua,  on  which  I  had  sailed  from  Suva,  was  a 
fairly  large  inter-island  steamer  that  made  the  rounds 
of  all  the  important  groups.  She  was  bound  for  Samoa, 
whither  I  had  determined  to  go.  There  is  no  better  op- 
portunity of  getting  a  glimpse  of  the  contrast  between 
the  natives  of  the  various  South  Sea  islands  than  on 
board  one  of  these  inter-island  vessels.  They  are  gen- 
erally manned  by  the  natives  of  one  of  the  groups, — in 
this  case,  the  Fijians.  These  men  handle  the  cargo  at 
all  ports,  and  remain  on  board  until  the  vessel  returns 
to  Fiji  en  route  to  the  Antipodes.  They  feed  and  sleep 
on  the  open  deck  and  make  themselves  as  happy  and  as 
noisy  as  they  can.  A  gasoline  tin  of  tea,  baked  potatoes, 
hard  biscuit,  and  a  chunk  of  fat  meat,  which  is  all  placed 
before  them  on  the  dirty  deck  (they  are  given  no  nap- 
kins),— that  is  Fijian  joy. 

After  their  work,  which  in  port  sometimes  keeps  them 
up  till  the  morning  hours,  these  strange  creatures,  un- 
troubled by  thought,  stretch  themselves  on  the  wooden 
hatchway  and  sleep.  There  I  found  them  at  half-past 
five  in  the  morning,  all  covered  with  the  one  large  sheet 
of  canvas  and  never  a  nose  poking  out.  Air!  Perhaps 
they  got  some  through  a  little  hole  in  the  great  sheet. 
Some  stood  and  slept  like  tired,  overworked  horses. 

One  queer  Fijian  with  turbaned  head  grinned  in  imi- 
tation of  none  other  than  himself,  a  vague,  undefined 
curiosity  rolling  about  in  his  skull.  He  followed  me 
everywhere,  his  white  eyes  staring  and  his  mouth  wide 
open.  Here  was  a  future  Fijian  statesman  in  the  proc- 
ess of  formation.  His  nebular,  chaotic  mentality  was 
taking  note  of  a  creature  as  far  removed  from  his  under- 
standing as  a  star  from  his  reach. 

One  white  soldier,  an  elderly  man,  wished  to  protect 
himself  from  the  wind,  and  asked  a  Fijian  to  haul  over 


ONE   OF   THE   MOST  GIFTED   OF  FIJIAN  CHIEFS 
But  who  said  that  the  wearing  of  hats  causes  baldness  (?) 


CACARINI    (KATHERINE),   THE   CHIEF'S   DAUGHTER 
In  her  filet  gown  of  Parisian  simplicity 


FIJIANS   DANCE   FROM   THE   HIP   UP 


A   FIJIAN   WEDDING 
Puzzle:  find  the  bride.     No,  not  the  one  with  the  hoop-skirt;  that's  the  groom 


THE  SUBLIMATED,  SAVAGE  FIJIANS       77 

a  piece  of  canvas.  The  black  man  did  so,  but  when  the 
boatswain  saw  it,  he  was  enraged.  The  Fijian  took  all 
the  scolding,  said  never  a  word,  and  quickly  replaced  the 
sheet.  As  the  boatswain  moved  away,  the  soldier  handed 
the  native  a  cigarette,  saying:  "Have  one  of  these,  old 
sport.  One  must  expect  reverses  in  war.'*  The  native 
grinned  and  felt  the  row  was  worth  while. 

There  were  Tongans,  Indians,  Samoans,  and  whites 
on  board,  and  though  these  are  nearer  kin  to  us,  I  liked 
the  Fijians  most.  Yet  the  Tongans  are  an  attractive  lot, 
refined  in  feature,  in  manner,  and  in  person.  Perhaps 
that  is  why  they  have  the  distinction  of  being  the  only 
South  Sea  people  with  their  own  kingdom,  a  cabinet,  and 
a  parliament. 

The  noise  the  Fijians  make  while  in  port  is  excruciat- 
ing. It  is  something  unclassifiable.  They  roll  their  r's, 
shout  as  though  mad  with  anger,  and  then  burst  out  in 
childish  laughter  at  nothing.  These  boyish  barbarians 
enjoy  themselves  much  more  in  yelling  than  they  would 
in  chorus  with  a  Caruso.  How  torrential  is  the  stream 
of  invective  which  issues  against  some  fellow-laborer! 
With  what  a  terrific  crash  it  falls  upon  its  victim !  But 
how  utter  the  disappointment  when,  after  one  has  ex- 
pectantly waited  for  a  scrap,  a  gurgle  of  hilarity  breaks 
from  the  throats  which  the  moment  before  seemed  such 
sirens  of  hate  and  malice ! 

And  so  they  toil,  happy  to  appear  important,  busy, 
honestly  busy,  loading  the  thousands  of  crates  of  green 
bananas,  the  cargo  which  passes  to  and  fro.  Happier 
than  the  happiest,  sharing  the  scraps  of  a  meal  without 
the  growl  so  common  among  our  sailors,  each  always 
seems  to  get  just  what  he  wants  and  helps  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  portions  to  the  others.  The  missus  never 
bothers  him,  no  matter  how  long  he  is  away,  and  instantly 
labor  ceases  the  group  is  "  spiritualized "  into  a  singing 
society  and  the  racial  opera  is  in  full  swing. 

I  had  anticipated  relief  at  their  absence  when  the 


78  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

steamer  set  off  for  the  colder  regions  south.  Yet  some- 
thing pleasant  was  gone  out  of  life  the  moment  the  ship 
steamed  out.  The  sailors  moved  about  like  pale  ghosts 
who  had  mechanically  wandered  back  to  a  joyless  life. 
The  white  man's  virtues  are  his  burdens.  His  tasks 
are  done  so  that  he  may  purchase  pleasure.  The  ship 
was  orderly,  everything  took  its  place,  even  the  cursing 
and  yelling  came  within  control.  We  were  heading 
again  for  civilization. 

I  felt  somewhat  like  the  old  folks  after  their  wish  had 
rid  the  town  of  all  mischievous  little  boys,  and  my  heart 
strained  back  for  an  inward  glimpse  of  the  life  behind. 
The  smell  of  mold  and  copra  returned ;  the  damp  beds ; 
the  cool,  clear  night  air;  the  moonlight  upon  the  shallow 
reefs ;  dappled  gray  breakers,  playing  upon  the  shore  as 
upon  a  child 's  ocean ;  in  the  dark,  along  Victoria  Parade, 
the  shuffle  of  bare  feet  in  the  dust,  the  dim  figures  of  tall, 
bushy-haired  men  and  slim,  wiry  Hindus;  the  thud  of 
heeled  boots  on  the  dry  earth.  And  far  off  there,  the 
sound  of  the  lali,  the  singing  of  deep  voices,  the  vision 
of  an  earthly  paradise, — shattered  by  the  sighting  of 
land  ahead. 


•  .'  .  . 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS 


ON  the  Niagara,  was  a  troupe  of  Samoan  men  and 
women  who  had  been  to  San  Francisco  demonstrat- 
ing their  arts  at  the  Panama-Pacific  Exhibition.  This, 
our  meeting  on  the  wide,  symp-like  tropical  sea  seemed 
to  me  almost  a  welcome,  a  coming  out  to  greet  me  and 
to  lead  me  to  the  portals  of  their  home.  They  were  en 
route  to  Suva,  Fiji,  where  they  were  to  await  an  inter- 
island  vessel  to  take  them  to  Samoa.  They  were  traveling 
third  class,  and  the  way  I  discovered  them  is  not  to  their 
discredit.  We  were  becoming  more  or  less  bored  with 
life  on  deck,  the  games  of  ship  tennis  and  quoits  being 
too  obviously  make-believe  to  be  entertaining.  At  times 
I  would  get  as  far  away  from  the  gregarious  passengers 
as  possible,  and  again  a  number  of  us  would  gather  upon 
the  hatchway  and  read  or  chatter.  It  was  a  thick  lat- 
ticed covering,  and  the  warm  air  from  below  none  too 
agreeable.  But  with  it  rose  strains  of  strange  melodies, 
as  from  Neptune's  regions  of  the  deep.  Peering  down, 
we  espied  a  number  of  Samoan  men  and  women,  lounging 
upon  the  floor  of  the  hold.  We  took  our  reputations  in 
our  hands  and  made  the  descent. 

There  were  big,  burly  men  and  broad,  sprawling 
women,  half -naked  and  asleep.  One  could  see  at  a  glance 
that  they  had  been  spoiled  by  the  attention  they  had  re- 
ceived while  on  exhibition  at  the  fair,  but  the  freedom 
of  life  among  third-class  passengers  somewhat  softened 
the  acquired  stiffness,  and  they  relaxed  again  into  native 
ways.  Hour  by  hour,  as  the  vessel  moved  southward, 

79 


80  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

they  seemad  to  come  back  to  life,  to  thaw  out  as  it  were, 
while  we  were  wilting  by  degrees. 

The  scene  was  one  which  could  have  been  found  only 
in  tropical  waters  under  the  burning  sun.  Smoke,  bare 
feet,  nakedness,  people  fat  with  the  sprawly  fatness  which 
is  the  style  of  the  South  Seas,  unwashed  sailors, — a 
medley  of  people  and  cargo  and  steamer  stench.  But 
also  of  the  sweetly  monotonous  song  of  the  Samoan  girl, 
the  swishing  of  the  water  against  the  nose  of  the  ship 
in  the  twilight  without,  and  the  steady  push  of  the  vessel 
toward  the  equator. 

I  whiled  away  many  a  pleasant  hour,  learning  a  few 
of  the  native  words  in  song  and  gossip.  It  is  hard  to  dis- 
tinguish one  native  from  the  other  at  first,  but  Fulaanu 
stood  out  above  the  rest  like  a  creature  over-imbued  with 
good-nature.  She  was  flat,  flabby,  with  a  drawl  in  speech 
that  had  the  effect  not  only  in  her  voice  but  her  entire 
bearing  of  a  leaning  Tower  of  Pisa.  Her  body  bent 
backward,  her  head  was  tilted  up,  and  her  long,  prominent 
nose  also  slanted  almost  with  pride.  She  was  an  enor- 
mous girl,  plain,  soft,  with  absolutely  no  fighting-spirit 
in  her,  but  she  stood  her  ground  against  all  masculine 
advances  with  a  charm  that  was  in  itself  teasingly  allur- 
ing. She  was  always  flanked  on  each  side  by  a  sailor. 
They  pretended  to  teach  her  the  ukulele,  they  proffered 
English  lessons,  they  found  one  excuse  after  another  for 
being  near  her,  and  she  never  shooed  them  away;  but 
I  'd  swear  by  all  the  gods  that  not  one  of  them  ever  more 
than  held  her  hand  or  leaned  lovingly  against  her. 

Yet  Fulaanu  was  as  sentimental  a  maiden  as  I  have 
ever  laid  eyes  on.  She  was  constantly  drawling  some  sen- 
timental song  she  had  learned  in  California,  the  ukulele 
was  seldom  out  of  her  hands,  she  never  joined  in  any 
of  the  card  games  going  on  constantly  roundabout  her, 
and  she  was  always  ready  to  swap  songs  with  any  one 
willing  to  teach  her. 

"I  teach  you  my  language,"  she  said  to  me,  and  slowly, 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS  81 

with  twinkling  eyes,  she  pronounced  certain  words  which 
I  repeated.  We  had  often  taught  French  to  our  boys 
at  our  little  school  in  California  in  that  way, — the  Mar- 
seillaise, for  instance, — and  the  method  was  not  strange 
to  me.  She  used  the  song  method,  too,  an  old  English 
song  that  was  just  then  the  rage  in  Samoa,  The  English 
words  run  somewhat  like  this: 

And  you  will  take  my  hand 

As  you  did  when  you  took  my  name; 

But  it's  only  a  beautiful  picture, 
In  a  beautiful  golden  frame. 

I'm  sure  I  have  them  all  muddled,  but  let  me  hum  this 
tune  to  myself  and  immediately  Fulaanu,  the  hold, 
Fiji,  Samoa,  and  all  the  scents  and  sounds  of  savage- 
dom  come  instantly  to  my  mind.  For  everywhere  I  went 
they  were  singing  this  song,  through  their  noses  but  with 
all  the  sentimental  ardor  of  the  young  flapper;  as  at  a 
summer  resort  in  America  when  a  new  song  hit  has  been 
made,  the  sound  of  it  is  heard  from  delivery  boy  to  house- 
maid and  as  many  different  renderings  of  it  as  individual 
temperament  demands. 

There  was  Setu,  too, — tall,  straight,  with  that  easy 
grace  known  only  among  people  free  of  clothes.  Setu 
spoke  English  very  well,  and  was  as  companionable  a 
chap  as  one  could  pick  up  in  many  a  mile.  But  Setu's 
heart  was  not  his  own ;  he  stood  guardian  over  a  treasure 
he  had  found  in  San  Francisco.  Not  an  American  girl, 
no,  sir !  These  savage  boys  did  not  play  the  devil  in  our 
land  as  our  savages  do  in  theirs.  But  Setu  was  the  per- 
sonification of  chivalry,  and,  what  was  more,  he  was  in 
love.  To  look  at  him  and  then  at  her  was  to  despair  of 
human  instinct  of  natural  selection.  How  an  Apollo  of 
his  excellence  should  have  been  unable  to  find  a  more 
handsome  objet  d 'amour,  I  cannot  imagine.  She  was 
short,  well  rounded,  with  a  head  as  square  as  Fulaanu 's 
was  oblong,  and  a  nose  as  snubby  as  Fulaanu 's  was  ro- 
manesque.  She  was  evidently  committed,  body  and  soul, 


82  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

to  Setu  for  she  was  as  devoid  of  charm  for  the  others 
as  Fulaanu  was  full  of  it.  And  so  all  day  long,  Setu  and 
his  sweetheart  hugged  each  other  in  a  corner,  as  obliv- 
ious of  the  presence  of  a  ship-load  of  people  as  though 
they  had  been  ensconced  in  a  hut  of  their  own.  They 
were  evidently  taking  advantage  of  proximity  to  civili- 
zation, for  such  immodest  behavior  is  not  frequent  in  the 
tropics.  Civilization  had  taught  the  savages  some  things 
at  least.  Whenever  Setu  was  free  from  love-making,  he 
would  spare  a  moment  to  me,  and  on  those  rare  occa- 
sions he  stirred  my  spirit  with  promises  of  guidance  in 
his  native  island  that  threatened  to  exhaust  my  funds. 

The  romantic  associations  we  have  with  the  South  Seas 
were  in  this  group  reversed,  for  to  these  primitive  peo- 
ple the  greatest  romance  imaginable  came  with  their 
journey  to  America.  There  young  people  from  different 
islands  met  and  fell  in  love  with  one  another;  there,  un- 
der the  benign  influence  of  American  spooning,  one  cou- 
ple was  married,  and  there  their  first  baby  was  born, — an 
American  subject,  brought  back  to  Pago  Pago  (American 
Samoa)  to  resume  his  citizenship.  There  they  learned 
true  modesty,  which  comprised  stockings  and  heavy 
boys'  shoes ;  the  art  of  playing  solitaire,  in  which  one  fat, 
matronly-looking  woman  indulged  all  day  as  though  she 
had  been  brought  along  as  chaperon  and  felt  herself 
considerably  out  of  it ;  and  even  en  route  for  home  they 
were  learning  the  art  of  striking  by  calculation  and  with- 
out passion  or  frenzy. 

I  was  sitting  on  the  hatch  with  Fulaanu,  who  was  strum- 
ming away  on  her  ukulele,  when  a  ring  was  formed  in  the 
middle  of  the  hold  and  a  young  white  man  began  boxing 
with  a  Samoan.  The  white  boxer  was  obviously  an 
amateur,  bearing  himself  with  all  the  unpleasant  man- 
nerisms of  his  profession, — a  haughty,  pugnacious,  over- 
bearing self-conceit.  He  had  every  advantage  in  train- 
ing over  his  antagonist,  whom  he  peppered  vigorously. 
He  kept  it  up  when  it  was  evident  that  the  young  Samoan 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS  83 

was  going  under.  One  last  blow  and  the  fellow  doubled 
over,  bleeding  from  nose  and  mouth.  It  took  ten  min- 
utes to  bring  him  round.  In  the  meanwhile,  the  victor 
of  the  unfair  bout  strutted  around  as  though  he  had 
accomplished  something  remarkable. 

It  was  interesting  to  see  the  effect  this  had  on  the 
"primitive"  Samoans.  There  was  consternation  among 
them;  a  hush  came  over  the  hold.  The  vibration  of  the 
steamer  and  the  splashing  of  the  water  against  its  iron 
side  alone  broke  the  stillness.  The  Samoan  girls,  though 
they  did  not  grow  hysterical,  were  most  decidedly  dis- 
pleased, turning  in  disgust  from  the  sight  of  blood. 
Yet  according  to  our  notions  they  are  primitive,  and  the 
fact  is  that  a  few  generations  ago  they  were  savages. 

But  they  were  not  long  in  distress.  The  spell  of  the 
equatorial  sun  was  upon  them,  and  they  soon  relaxed. 
There  upon  mats,  as  in  their  own  huts,  lay  rows  of  fat, 
large,  voluptuous  men  and  women ;  nor  was  there  even  a 
rope  to  separate  the  sexes  as  in  an  up-to-date  Japanese 
bath.  They  seemed  to  sleep  all  day,  in  shifts  governed 
by  impulse  only.  A  woman  would  rise  and  move  about 
a  while,  then  go  back  to  lounge  again.  Enormous,  broad- 
shouldered  and  black  mustached  men  would  snore 
gently,  rise  and  inspect  life,  and  decide  that  slumber 
was  better  for  one's  soul.  But  Fulaanu  lounged  with  her 
ukulele,  surrounded  by  amorous  sailors  who  gazed 
longingly  into  her  eyes. 

One  night  we  arranged  for  a  meeting  of  the  "classes." 
We  promised  the  Samoans  a  good  collection  if  they  would 
come  and  dance  for  us  on  deck.  We  invited  the  first- 
class  folk  to  come,  too.  They  stood  as  far  to  one  side  of 
us  as  was  consonant  with  first-class  dignity  represented 
by  an  extra  few  pounds  sterling  in  the  price  of  the  ticket. 
But  for  a  moment  we  forgot  that  there  were  class  and 
race  in  the  world. 

It  was  not  one  of  those  interminable  revelries  one 
reads  about,  that  begin  with  twilight  and  end  with  twi- 


84  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

light.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  a  little  squall  of  enter- 
tainment, one  that  breaks  out  of  a  clear  sky  and  leaves 
the  sky  just  as  clear  in  a  trice.  There  was  no  occasion 
for  self-expression  here.  They  had  been  asked  to  dance 
for  our  entertainment,  not  for  theirs.  There  we  stood, 
ready  to  applaud ;  there  they  were,  ready  to  be  applauded, 
to  receive  the  collection  promised.  It  was  another  little 
thing  they  had  picked  up  in  our  world,  from  our  civili- 
zation,— the  commercialization  of  art.  Our  artists, 
scribes,  and  entertainers  have  been  considerably  raised 
above  prostitution  of  their  talents  by  a  certain  commer- 
cialization, by  the  translation  of  their  worth  in  dollars 
and  cents ;  and  we  need  a  little  more  of  it  to  free  art  from 
bondage  to  patronage.  But  in  the  tropics,  where  the 
dance  and  jollity  are  no  private  matters,  there  is  some- 
thing sterile  in  commercialization.  No  doubt  to  the  na- 
tives there  is  little  difference  between  a  woman  giving 
herself  for  gain  and  a  man  dancing  for  the  money  there 
is  in  it  without  the  whole  group  becoming  part  of  the 
performance:  the  dancer  feels  that  his  purchaser,  his 
public,  is  cold  and  unresponsive.  And  so  it  seemed  to  me 
at  this  dance.  They  finished,  they  expected  their  money, 
they  got  it  and  departed,  and  there  seemed  something 
immoral  to  me  in  the  exploitation  of  their  emotions. 

What  a  different  lot  they  were  one  night  when  I  visited 
the  little  house  they  rented  in  Suva  while  waiting  for  the 
Atua  to  arrive  from  New  Zealand  and  take  them  on  to 
Samoa.  There  it  was  song  and  dance  out  of  sheer  ec- 
stasy: life  was  so  full.  They  were  again  in  their  home 
atmosphere,  and  their  voices  only  helped  swell  the  vol- 
ume of  song  which  issued  forth  everywhere  about, — an 
electrification  of  humanity  all  along  the  line,  in  village 
after  village. 

They  hung  about  the  pier  before  sailing  for  Samoa 
till  after  midnight,  singing  sentimental  songs  and  hob- 
nobbing with  the  Fijians.  The  Fijian  constable  joined 
them  with  a  flute,  and  the  lot  of  them  tried  to  drown  out 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS  85 

the  voices  of  the  natives  loading  and  unloading  cargo. 
Not  until  notice  was  given  that  the  ship  was  about  to  get 
under  steam  did  they  think  of  going  aboard.  They 
looked  as  though  ready  for  rest,  but  by  no  means  dissi- 
pated, by  no  means  weary.  The  spell  of  song  was  still 
upon  them. 

When  we  woke  next  morning,  we  were  tied  up  to  a  pier 
at  the  foot  of  the  hills  of  Levuka.  But  I  have  already 
dwelt  upon  the  features  of  this  former  capital,  and  am 
only  concerned  with  it  here  as  it  was  reflected  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Samoans.  Levuka  to  me  was  one  thing;  to 
them  it  was  quite  another.  The  moldy  little  stores  af- 
forded them  more  interest  than  the  village  to  the  left, 
or  the  shipyards  to  the  right  which  were  to  my  Western 
notions  commendable. 

I  followed  in  the  wake  of  these  gliding  natives  as  we 
left  the  steamer.  They  looked  neither  to  the  right  nor 
to  the  left,  but  wended  their  ways,  like  cattle  in  the  pas- 
ture, straight  toward  the  shops.  Into  one  and  out  the 
other  they  went,  bargaining,  pricing,  buying  little  trin- 
kets and  simple  cloths,  chatting  with  the  Fijians  as 
though  friends  of  old. 

Setu  's  sweetheart  and  the  pretty  mother  of  the  young 
American  citizen,  who  was  left  in  the  care  of  the  fat 
" chaperon,"  set  off  by  themselves  through  the  one  and 
only  street  of  Levuka.  It  was  obvious  that  they  were 
quite  aware  of  whither  they  were  going, — so  direct  was 
their  journey.  My  curiosity  was  roused  and  I  wandered 
along  with  them.  They  said  never  a  word  to  me,  nor 
objected  to  my  presence.  We  turned  to  the  left,  off  into 
a  side  street  that  began  to  insinuate  its  way  along  the 
bed  of  a  stream  lined  with  wooden  huts  and  shacks. 
Some  of  these  were  fairly  well  constructed,  with  ve- 
randas, like  the  houses  of  a  miniature  American  town, 
garlanded  in  flowers.  Just  above  the  village,  where  the 
stream  began  to  emerge  from  behind  a  rocky  little  gorge,, 
the  two  women  turned  in  at  a  gate  to  a  private  cottage. 


86  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

A  bridge  led  across  the  stream  to  the  little  house,  the 
veranda  of  which  extended  slightly  over  the  stream. 
Beneath,  in  a  corner  formed  by  a  projecting  boulder,  lay 
a  quiet  little  pool  of  water — clear,  cool,  fresh  and  deep. 

Without  asking  permission  from  the  owners,  the 
women  began  slowly,  cautiously  to  wade  into  the  pool. 
Seeing  that  I  had  no  thought  of  going,  they  put  modesty 
aside,  slipped  the  loose  garments  down  to  their  waists 
and  immersed  themselves  up  to  their  necks.  One  of 
them  was  tattooed  from  below  her  breasts  to  her  hips; 
the  other's  breasts  alone  bore  these  designs.  They 
dipped  and  rose,  splashed  and  spluttered,  but  there  was 
none  of  that  intimacy  with  their  own  flesh  which  is  the 
essence  of  cleanliness  and  passion  in  our  world.  There 
was  no  soap,  no  scrubbing.  It  was  something  objective, 
almost,  a  contact  with  nature  like  looking  at  a  landscape 
or  listening  to  a  storm. 

Presently  some  of  the  inmates  of  the  cottage,  evidently 
well-to-do  Fijians,  came  out  to  greet  them.  I  could  not 
tell  whether  they  were  friends  or  not,  but  the  women 
were  invited  in, — and  I  turned  into  town  through  back 
roads  and  alleys  that  were  just  like  the  back  roads  and 
alleys  anywhere  in  the  world. 

That  afternoon  we  steamed  out  again  for  Apia,  Samoa. 
The  sea  was  disturbed  somewhat  and  gave  us  various 
sensations ;  but  the  vile  odors  that  threatened  my  nauti- 
cal pride  never  changed. 

Most  of  the  Samoans  were  under  the  weather.  They 
did  not  look  cheerful,  and  all  song  was  gone  out  of  them. 
Setu  and  his  sweetheart  were  here  even  more  insepara- 
ble than  on  the  Niagara.  She  was  not  very  well  and 
stretched  out  on  the  bench  on  the  edge  of  which  he  took 
his  seat.  In  her  squeamish  condition  she  could  hardly 
be  expected  to  pay  much  attention  to  proprieties  she  had 
acquired  in  less  than  a  year's  residence  in  America. 
Her  sprawly  bare  feet  on  several  occasions  made  too 
bold  an  exit  from  beneath  the  loose  Mother-Hubbard 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS  87 

gown  she  wore,  and  each  time  Setu  would  draw  the  skirt 
farther  over  them,  affectionately  pressing  them  with  his 
hand.  This  one  instance,  exceptional  as  it  was,  made  me 
notice  more  consciously  the  absence  of  that  public 
intimacy  which  is  the  bane  of  the  prude  with  us.  Not  all 
the  charm  of  the  tropics  which  is  so  real  to  me  can  take 
the  place  of  the  cleanliness  of  the  West,  the  tenderness 
of  clean  men  and  women  in  public,  to  be  observed  even  on 
our  crowded  subways,  the  loveliness  of  white  skin  tinged 
with  pink  and  scented  with  the  essence  of  flowers. 

I  did  not  see  them  again  before  we  arrived  at  Samoa 
the  next  day ;  the  sea  was  too  choppy.  But  in  the  after- 
noon Setu  came  out  with  a  pillow  held  aloft  over  his  head, 
and  declared  he  would  take  a  nap.  There  was  childish 
glee  in  his  face  at  the  prospect,  and  he  stretched  out  on 
the  hard  deck  in  perfect  ease.  And  long  after  I  ceased 
to  figure  in  his  fancies,  the  beaming,  sparkling  eyes  and 
merry  grin  seemed  to  light  up  the  soul  within  him. 

Toward  sundown  we  passed  the  first  island  of  the 
group, — Savaii,  the  largest.  It  lay  at  our  left,  Mua  Peak 
emitting  a  sluggish  smoke  from  reaches  beyond  the  depth 
of  the  waters  which  had  nearly  submerged  it,  and  as  the 
sea  made  furious  charges  into  blow-holes  or  half-sub- 
merged caverns,  the  earth  spit  back  the  invading  waters 
with"  an  easy  contempt. 

At  our  right  lay  the  island  of  Manono,  much  smaller, 
and  nearer  our  course.  Shy  Samoan  villages  hid  in 
little  ravines,  almost  afraid  to  show  their  faces. 

Shortly  after  eight  o'clock  we  neared  the  island  of 
Upolu.  The  troupe  of  Samoans  came  out  on  deck  with 
the  eagerness  in  their  eyes  that  marks  such  arrivals  at 
every  port  of  the  world.  The  lights  of  the  village  of 
Apia  pricked  the  delicate  evening  haze.  One  strong, 
steady  lamp,  like  a  planet,  shone  from  above  the  others. 
Setu  called  to  me  eagerly,  his  right  hand  pointing 
toward  it. 


88  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

"That  is  from  Vailima,  Stevenson 's  home,"  he  said, 
with  some  pride. 

When  at  last  we  anchored  just  outside  the  reefs  before 
Apia,  these  natives,  who  had  grown  close  to  one  another 
during  the  year  of  their  pilgrimage,  began  bidding  one 
another  farewell  before  slipping  back  to  the  little  sepa- 
rate grooves  they  called  home.  The  women  kissed  one 
another,  cheek  touching  cheek  at  an  angle,  a  practice 
common  both  at  meeting  (talofa)  and  at  parting  (to fa). 
But  with  the  men  they  only  shook  hands.  Then,  clam- 
bering over  into  canoes,  they  were  borne  across  the  reefs 
to  their  homes.  And  as  long  as  Polynesia  is  Polynesia 
there  will  echo  the  stories  of  this  journey  to  the  land  of 
the  white  man  and  all  children  will  know  that  what  the 
white  man  said  about  his  lands  is  true. 


The  reader  who  has  never  entered  a  strange  port  nor 
come  home  from  foreign  lands  will  not  be  able  to  imagine 
the  psychological  effect  of  my  entry  of  Samoa.  Not  only 
did  the  thousands  of  eyes  of  the  natives  seem  to  turn 
their  gaze  upon  me,  but  it  seemed,  and  I  was  quite  sure, 
that  at  least  two  thousand  pale  faces  with  as  many  bay- 
onets were  fixed  upon  me.  Samoa  was  under  occupation. 
I  asked  the  captain  of  the  forces  what  I  could  do  to 
avoid  trouble. 

"See  that  you  don't  get  shot,"  he  said.  I  assured  him 
there  was  nothing  nearer  my  heart's  desire,  and,  seeing 
that  I  looked  harmless,  he  ventured  to  reassure  me :  "Oh, 
just  keep  away  from  the  wireless.  That 's  all."  I  had 
come  to  see  the  natives,  not  electric  gymnastics,  so  I 
found  it  very  easy  to  keep  away  from  the  wireless. 

"What  there  was  of  Apia  was  essentially  European  and 
lay  along  the  waterfront.  Here  stood  the  three-story 
hotel,  built  and  until  then  managed  by  Germans.  Diag- 
onally across  from  it  and  nearer  the  water's  edge,  was  a 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS  89 

two-story  ramshackle  building  even  then  run  by  Ger- 
mans. The  little  barber  to  whom  I  had  been  directed 
spoke  with  a  most  decided  German  accent.  He  cut  and 
shampooed  my  hair,  but  let  me  walk  out  with  as  much 
of  a  souse  on  top  of  my  head  as  I  ever  had  in  a  shower- 
bath.  "Wherever  I  went  were  Germans, — and  yet  they 
said  the  islands  were  under  occupation.  Turn  tc  the 
right  and  there,  back  off  the  street  within  a  small  com- 
pound that  seemed  to  lie  flat  and  low,  was  a  German 
school  still  being  conducted  by  black-bearded  German 
priests.  But  to  the  left,  within  the  dark-red  fence,  stood 
the  dark-red  buildings  of  the  German  Plantation  Com- 
pany, closed,  and  the  little  building  that  once  was 
the  German  Club  had  become  the  British  Club ;  while  at 
the  other  end  of  the  street  were  the  office  buildings  of 
the  military  staff,  where  once  ruled  the  German  militar- 
ists. In  between,  in  a  little  building  a  block  or  two 
behind  the  waterfront,  was  the  printing-office, — where, 
strange  to  say,  the  daily  paper  was  still  being  printed  in 
both  German  and  English.  With  the  few  structures  that 
filled  in  the  gaps  between  these  outposts  we  had  small 
concern.  They  were  the  nests  of  traders,  the  haven  of 
so-called  beach-combers  and  the  barracks  and  missionary 
compounds.  And  alien  Samoa  is  at  an  end. 

Mindful  of  the  mild  instructions  not  to  get  myself  shot, 
I  took  as  little  interest  in  the  details  of  occupation  as 
was  compatible  with  my  sense  of  freedom ;  but  this  course 
was  precarious,  for  at  the  time  any  one  who  was  not 
with  us  was  against  us.  However,  details  of  such  dif- 
ferences must  be  reserved  for  a  later  chapter.  Here  we 
are  interested  in  Samoa  itself.  But  in  my  very  interest 
in  the  place  I  struck  a  snag,  for  every  other  day  Germans 
were  being  deported  or  coraled  for  attempting  to  stir 
up  a  native  uprising.  Still,  inasmuch  as  I  could  not 
acquire  the  language  in  so  short  a  time,  I  felt  secure,  and 
took  to  the  paths  that  led  to  the  Stone  Age  as  a  Dante 
without  a  love-affair  to  guide  him. 


90  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

The  island  is  hemmed  in  by  coral  reefs  on  the  edge  of 
which  the  waves  break,  spreading  in  foam  and  gliding 
quietly  toward  shore.  As  they  sport  in  the  brilliant  sun- 
light, it  seems  as  though  the  sea  were  calling  back  the 
life  lost  to  it  through  evolution.  The  tall,  gaunt  palms 
which  lean  toward  the  sea,  bow  in  a  humble  helplessness. 
There,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  out,  upon  the  unseen  reefs, 
lies  the  iron  skeleton  of  the  Adler,  the  German  man-of- 
war  which  was  wrecked  on  the  memorable  day  in  1889. 
Such  seems  to  be  the  fate  of  the  Germans:  even  their 
skeletons  outlive  disaster.  But  the  sea  has  been  the 
protector  of  the  natives.  It  would  be  interesting  to 
speculate  as  to  what  course  events  about  the  South  Seas 
would  have  taken  had  not  that  hurricane  intervened. 
The  natives  are  indifferent  to  such  speculations;  for,  as 
far  as  they  were  concerned,  one  turn  was  as  good  as 
another.  Borne  over  the  swelling  waves  from  island 
drift  to  island  drift,  the  ups  and  downs  of  eternity  seem 
to  leave  no  great  changes  in  their  lives. 

Roaming  along  the  waterfront  to  the  left  of  Apia 
with  the  sun  near  high  noon,  all  by  myself,  I  met  with 
nothing  to  disturb  the  utter  sweetness  and  glory  of  life 
about.  I  wavered  between  moods  of  exquisite  exhilara- 
tion and  deep  depression.  Bound  by  the  encircling  con- 
sciousness of  the  occupation,  the  sense  of  wrong  done 
these  natives  who  had  neither  asked  for  our  civilization 
nor  invited  us  to  squabble  over  their  "bones,"  I  felt  that 
but  for  the  presence  of  the  white  man  this  would  have 
been  the  loveliest  land  in  the  world.  For  here  one 
becomes  aware  of  nature  as  something  altogether  dif- 
ferent from  nature  anywhere  else.  That  distant  pleading 
of  the  sea ;  the  gentle  yielding  of  the  palms  to  the  land- 
born  breezes, — there  was  much  more  than  peace  and 
ease ;  there  was  absolute  harmony.  But  where  was  man? 

I  became  restless.  Nature  was  not  sufficient.  I  went 
to  seek  out  man,  for  at  that  hour  there  was  none  of  him 
anywhere  about.  I  was,  for  all  intents  and  purposes, 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS  91 

absolutely  the  only  human  being  on  that  island.  Every 
one  else  had  taken  to  cool  retreats.  But  where  should  I 
go  !  I  wondered.  I  knew  no  one,  and  the  sense  of  loneli- 
ness I  had  for  a  while  forgotten  came  back  to  me  with 
a  rush.  For  a  moment  I  was  again  in  civilization,  again 
in  a  world  of  fences  and  locked  doors.  "I  will  go  and 
look  up  Setu,"  I  thought.  "He  promised  to  guide  me 
about  Samoa.  I  have  his  address.  I  '11  look  up  Setu." 
So  I  turned  back  toward  the  hills  and  in  among  the  palm 
groves,  where  I  could  see  the  huts  of  the  village  of 
Mulinuu,  where  Setu  lived. 

When  I  arrived  I  realized  why  I  had  suddenly  become 
conscious  of  my  loneliness.  Throughout  the  village  there 
was  n't  a  soul  abroad.  The  domes  of  thatch  resting  on 
circles  of  smooth  pillars  were  deserted,  it  seemed,  and 
the  fresh  coolness  that  coursed  freely  within  their  shade 
was  untasted.  Nowhere  upon  the  broad,  grassy  fields 
beneath  the  palms  was  there  a  walking  thing ;  and  I  was 
a  total  stranger.  It  was  slightly  bewildering,  as  though 
I  were  in  a  graveyard,  or  a  village  from  which  the 
inhabitants  had  all  gone.  I  approached  one  of  the  huts 
and  found,  to  my  satisfaction,  that  there  was  a  human 
being  there.  It  was  a  woman,  attending  to  her  house- 
hold duties.  She  was  just  under  the  eaves  on  the  outside, 
beside  the  floor  of  the  hut,  which  was  like  a  circular  stage 
raised  a  foot  or  two  above  the  ground,  and  paved  with 
loose  shingles  from  the  shore.  I  hardly  knew  how  to 
approach  her,  not  thinking  she  might  know  my  language. 

"Good  afternoon,"  she  said  in  perfect  English.  "Sit 
down."  The  shock  was  pleasant.  So  there  were  no 
fences  or  doors  to  social  intercourse  in  Samoa,  after  all. 
Still,  I  must  find  Setu.  I  asked  her  where  I  could  locate 
his  home.  Before  directing  me,  she  chatted  a  while  and 
assured  me  that  I  could  go  to  any  one  of  the  huts  about 
and  make  myself  comfortable.  I  was  not  to  hesitate,  as 
it  was  the  custom  of  the  country  and  in  no  way  unusual. 
She  was  a  fine-looking  woman,  robust  and  tall,  genial 


92  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

and  attentive,  as  housewifely  a  person  as  could  be  found 
anywhere.  I  have  since  had  occasion  to  talk  with  many 
a  housewife  in  New  Zealand  and  Australia  when  search- 
ing for  private  quarters  and  cannot  say  that  their  man- 
ners, their  dress,  their  regard  for  a  stranger's  welfare 
in  any  way  exceeded  those  of  this  woman  who  had  noth- 
ing to  offer  me  but  rest  and  no  wish  for  reward  but  my 
content. 

Taking  her  directions,  I  turned  across  the  village  to 
where  she  said  Setu  could  be  found.  Beneath  the  shade 
of  a  palm  squatted  a  group  of  men  who  when  they  spied 
me  called  for  me  to  come  over  to  them.  Had  I  not  been 
on  curiosity  bent,  I  should  have  regarded  their  request 
as  sheer  impudence,  for  when  I  arrived  they  wanted  me 
to  employ  them  as  guides.  It  was  amusing.  Instead  of 
running  after  hire,  they  commanded  the  stranger  to  come 
to  them.  It  was  too  comfortable  under  the  spreading 
palm  branches.  I  told  them  that  I  had  arranged  with 
Setu  to  guide  me  and  was  in  search  of  him.  They  began 
running  Setu  down.  He  was  untrustworthy,  they  assured 
me,  and  would  charge  me  too  high  a  price.  Then  they 
asked  me  what  my  business  was,  what  Setu  had  said, 
when  he  was  going, — everything  imaginable.  But  never 
an  inch  would  they  move  to  show  me  the  way  to  Setu's 
house.  I  wandered  about  for  a  while,  inquiring  of  one 
stray  individual  and  another,  but  no  one  had  seen  Setu, 
and  at  last  I  learned  that  he  had  left  the  village  early 
that  morning  for  his  father's  place,  far  inland,  and 
would  not  return.  Setu  had  gone  back  on  me.  He  had 
promised  to  call  for  me  with  his  horse  and  buggy  and 
convey  me  over  the  island.  But  Setu  had  forsaken  me, 
and  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  make  the  best  of  the 
day  right  there. 

Taking  the  word  of  the  well  -  spoken  woman,  I 
approached  the  most  attractive-looking  hut,  where  sat  a 
number  of  people  roundabout  the  pillars.  It  was  a 
mansion-like  establishment  even  to  my  inexperienced 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS  93 

judgment  of  huts.  It  was  roofed  with  corrugated  iron 
instead  of  thatch,  and  the  pillars  were  unusually  straight 
and  smooth.  The  raised  floor  was  very  neatly  spread 
with  selected,  smooth,  flat  stones  four  to  five  inches  in 
diameter,  and  framed  with  a  rim  of  concrete.  Fine  straw 
mats  lay  like  rugs  over  a  polished  parquet  floor  at  all 
angles  to  one  another,  and  straw  drop  curtains  hung 
rolled  up  under  the  eaves,  to  be  lowered  in  case  of  rain 
or  hurricane.  The  floor  space  must  have  been  at  least 
thirty-five  feet  in  diameter,  and  it  was  plain  that  each 
inhabitant  occupied  his  own  section  of  the  hut  round  the 
outer  circle. 

I  was  cordially  greeted  and  invited  to  rest,  which  I 
did  by  sitting  on  the  ground  with  my  legs  out,  and  my 
back  to  a  pillar  for  support.  From  the  quiet  and  decorum 
it  was  evident  that  the  householders  were  entertaining 
guests.  Each  couple  or  family  sat  upon  its  own  mats. 
There  were  twelve  adults  and  three  children.  It  hap- 
pened that  the  man  who  greeted  me  and  bade  me  be 
seated  was  the  guest  of  honor,  a  gentleman  from  Earo- 
tanga,  passing  through  Samoa  on  his  way  to  Fiji.  He 
was  a  very  refined-looking  individual,  and  made  me  feel 
that  the  Earotangans  were  a  superior  race,  but  the  con- 
trary is  true.  However,  his  regular  features  and  courtly 
manners  were  a  distinction  which  might  well  have 
led  to  such  a  supposition.  His  handsome  wife,  who  sat 
with  him,  was  as  retiring  as  a  Japanese  woman,  and  as 
considerate  of  his  comfort. 

The  others  were  set  in  pairs  all  round  the  hut.  At 
the  extreme  left  were  two  women,  sewing;  opposite  us, 
a  man  and  woman  apportioning  the  victuals;  to  my 
right,  a  man  and  a  woman  grinding  the  ava  root  prepara- 
tory to  the  making  of  the  drink.  Farther  way  squatted 
a  very  fat  woman,  with  barely  a  covering  over  her 
breasts,  which  were  full  as  though  she  were  in  the  nurs- 
ing-stage. The  children  moved  about  freely  neither 
disturbing  nor  being  curbed.  In  the  center  of  the  com- 


94  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

pany  sat  two  men,  one  evidently  the  head  of  the  family, 
with  his  back  up  against  a  pillar,  the  other  his  equal  in 
some  relationship. 

The  dinner  was  being  served  by  a  portly  individual, 
a  man  who  could  not  have  been  exactly  a  servant,  yet 
who  did  not  act  as  though  he  were  a  member  of  the 
family.  He  passed  round  the  ample  supply  of  fish, 
meats,  and  vegetables  on  enamel  plates,  his  services 
always  being  acknowledged  graciously.  No  one  looked 
at  or  noticed  his  neighbor,  but  indulged  with  the  aid  of 
spoon  or  finger  as  he  saw  fit,  and  had  any  made  a  faux 
pas  there  would  have  been  none  the  wiser.  That,  I 
thought,  was  true  politeness. 

Dinner  over,  the  remains  were  removed  and  each  per- 
son leaned  back  against  the  nearest  pillar.  After  a  slight 
pause,  the  eldest  man,  he  in  the  center  of  the  hut,  clapped 
his  hands,  and  uttered  a  gentle  sound,  as  one  satisfied 
would  say:  "Well!  Let  's  get  down  to  business."  But  it 
was  nothing  so  serious  or  so  material  as  that.  It  was 
ava-drinking  time.  The  polished  cocoanut  bowl  was 
passed  round,  by  the  same  old  waiter,  to  the  man  whose 
name  was  called  aloud  by  the  head  of  the  household,  and 
each  time  all  the  rest  clapped  hands  two  or  three  times  to 
cheer  his  cup.  It  was  like  the  Japanese  method  of  ' '  ring- 
ing" for  a  servant,  not  like  our  applause.  Then  fruits 
were  passed  around.  Cocoanuts,  soft  and  ripe,  the  outer 
shell  like  the  skin  of  an  alligator  pear  and  easily  cut  with 
an  ordinary  knife,  were  first  in  order,  after  which  the 
companion  of  the  man  in  the  middle  of  the  hut,  like  a  ma- 
gician on  the  stage,  drew  out  of  mysterious  regions  an 
enormous  pineapple  which  may  have  been  thirty  inches 
in  circumference.  It  might  have  had  elephantiasis,  for 
all  I  knew,  but  it  was  the  cause  of  the  only  bit  of  dis- 
harmony I  had  noticed  during  the  entire  time  I  rested 
with  them.  The  man  to  whom  it  fell  to  dispense  its  juicy 
contents — he  who  had  sat  unobtrusively  beside  the  head 
of  the  house  now  found  it  necessary  to  stretch  his  legs 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS  95 

in  order  the  better  to  carve  the  fruity  porcupine.  The 
shock  to  my  sense  of  form  the  moment  I  caught  sight 
of  those  legs  was  enough  to  dissipate  my  greediest  inter- 
est in  the  pineapple.  They  were  twice  the  size  of  the 
fruit,  and  as  knotty.  He  was  suffering  from  elephan- 
tiasis of  the  legs,  poor  man, — a  disease,  according  to  the 
encyclopaedia,  "  dependent  on  chronic  lymphatic  obstruc- 
tion, and  characterized  by  hypertrophy  of  the  skin  and 
subcutaneous  tissue."  Morbid  persons  seem  to  enjoy 
taking  away  with  them  photographs  of  people  affected 
by  this  hideous  disease  in  various  parts  of  the  body,  but 
it  was  enough  for  me  that  I  saw  this  one  case ;  and  sorry 
enough  was  I  that  I  saw  it  at  that  quiet,  peaceful  hut, 
from  which  I  should  otherwise  have  carried  away  the 
loveliest  of  memories. 

For  as  soon  as  the  meal  was  over,  and  the  ava-drinking 
at  an  end,  pleasures  more  intellectual  were  in  order. 
Neighbors  began  to  arrive,  including  the  fine  woman  who 
had  urged  me  to  rest  wherever  I  wished.  As  each  new 
guest  appeared,  he  passed  round  on  the  outside  and 
shook  hands  with  those  to  whom  he  was  introduced, 
finally  finding  a  quiet  corner. 

When  the  interruptions  ceased,  the  head  of  the  house 
began  to  speak  in  a  low,  reflective  tone  of  voice.  All  the 
others  relaxed,  as  do  men  and  women  over  their  cigar- 
ettes. My  Tongan  neighbor  acted  as  interpreter  for  me, 
being  the  only  person  present  who  could  speak  English. 
The  head  of  the  house  was  telling  some  family  legend, 
the  point  of  which  was  the  friendship  between  his  fore- 
fathers and  the  fathers  of  this  Tongan  guest.  Then  one 
at  a  time,  quietly,  in  a  subdued  tone,  each  one  present 
expressed  his  gratitude  for  the  hospitality  extended,  or 
recited  some  family  reminiscence.  There  wasn't  the 
slightest  affectation,  nor  the  semblance  of  an  argument. 
Here,  then,  was  Thoreau's  principle  of  hospitality 
actually  being  practised.  As  each  one  spoke  he  gazed 
out  upon  the  open  sky  decorated  with  the  broad  green 


96  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

leaves  of  the  palm.  Sometimes  the  listeners  smiled  at 
some  witticism,  but  most  of  the  time  they  were  interested 
in  a  sober  way.  Last  of  all  arose  the  companion  of  the 
head  of  the  house,  upon  his  heavy,  elephantine  legs,  and 
in  a  dramatic  manner — probably  made  to  seem  more  so 
by  the  tragic  distortion  of  his  limbs — related  a  story, 
several  times  emphasizing  a  generalization  by  a  sweep 
of  the  hands  toward  the  open  world  about. 

A  gentle  breeze  crept  down  from  the  hills  and  swept 
its  way  among  the  pillars  of  this  peaceful  hut  and 
skipped  on  through  the  palms  out  to  sea.  As  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach  through  the  village  there  was  no  sign 
of  uncleanliness,  no  stifling  enclosures,  no  frills  to  catch 
the  unwary. 

The  afternoon  was  well-nigh  gone  when  I  moved 
reluctantly  away  from  this  charmed  spot.  Slowly  life 
was  becoming  more  discontented  with  ease  and  bestirred 
itself  to  the  satisfaction  of  wants.  A  few  hours  of  toil, 
in  the  gathering  of  fruits,  and  one  phase  of  tropical  life 
was  rounded  out.  It  might  be  more  pleasant  to  believe 
that  that  is  the  only  side,  but  such  faith  is  treacherous. 
The  life  of  the  average  South  Sea  islander  is  as  arduous 
as  any.  Fruits  there  are  usually  a-plenty,  but  they  must 
be  gathered  and  stored  against  famine  and  storm.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  the  open  life,  the  things  one  has  which 
require  only  wishing  to  make  them  one's  own,  the 
uncrampea  open  world, — by  that  much  every  man  is 
millionaire  in  the  tropics,  and  it  is  pleasant  to  forget 
if  one  can  that  there  is  exploitation,  despoliation,  and 
oppression  as  well,  both  of  native  and  of  alien  origin. 
But  for  the  time  at  least  we  may  as  well  enjoy  that 
which  is  lovely. 


That  night  I  witnessed  the  usual  events  at  the  British 
Club.  The  substance  of  the  evening's  conversation, 
every  word  of  which  was  in  my  own  language,  was  quite 


THE   STREET   ALONG    THE   WATERFRONT   OF   APIA,    SAMOA 


I  THOUGHT  THE  VILLAGE  BACK  OF  APIA,  SAMOA,  WAS  DESERTED,  BUT  IT 
WAS   ONLY   THE    NOON   HOUR 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS  97 

foreign  to  me.  It  comprised  "Dr.  Funk"  and  his  special 
services  in  counteracting  dengue  fever.  The  aim  and 
object  of  every  man  there  seemed  to  be  to  make  me  drink, 
quite  against  my  will.  A  visiting  doctor  added  the 
weight  of  his  learning  to  induce  me  to  turn  from  heed- 
lessly falling  a  victim  to  fever  by  engaging  "Dr. 
Funk.  ' '  I  was  inclined  to  dub  him  ' '  Dr.  Bunk, ' '  but  why 
arouse  animosity  in  the  tropics  ?  there  is  enough  of  it. 

But  I  couldn't  help  contrasting  in  my  own  mind  the 
little  gathering  on  the  shingle-paved  floor  of  that  corru- 
gated iron  hut  with  the  more  elaborate  club  that  changed 
its  name  from  German  to  British  with  no  little  hauteur. 
More  than  once  I  wished  that  I  had  had  command  of  the 
language  of  those  people  in  the  hut  where  allegory,  mixed 
with  superstition  but  seasoned  with  gentle  hospitality — 
and  not  rum — was  the  order  of  the  day. 

Weary  of  refusing  booze  and  more  booze,  I  set  off 
for  the  shore.  Though  military  order  forbade  either 
natives  or  Germans  or  any  one  else  without  a  permit  to 
be  out  after  ten  o'clock,  I  had  had  no  difficulty  in  secur- 
ing a  permit  to  roam  about  at  will,  day  or  night.  The 
new  military  Inspector  of  Police  strolled  out  with  me 
and  we  took  to  the  road  that  led  out  of  Apia  to  the  left, 
past  the  barracks,  past  the  school,  and  the  church,  past 
all  the  crude  replicas  of  our  civilization. 

1 '  Oh,  how  I  loathe  it  all ! "  said  Heasley  to  me.  ' '  God, 
what  wouldn't  I  give  to  be  back  with  my  wife  and  kid- 
dies! This  everlasting  boozing,  this  mingling  with 
people  whom  I  wouldn't  recognize  in  Wellington,  being 
herded  with  the  riffraff  of  the  world.  They  talk  of  the 
lovely  maidens.  Tell  me,  Greenbie,  have  you  seen  any 
here  you  'd  care  to  mess  about  with?  The  tropics! — 
rot!" 

I  saw  that  I  had  to  deal  with  a  frightfully  homesick 
man,  and  there  was  no  point  in  running  counter  to  him. 
The  fact  that  to  me  the  tropics  were  lovely  only  when 
seen  as  an  objective  thing,  not  as  something  to  feel  a  part 


98  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

of,  would  have  made  little  impression  on  his  mind.  He 
was  condemned  to  an  indefinite  sojourn,  whereas  I  was 
foot-loose,  had  come  of  my  own  free  will,  and  was  going  as 
soon  as  I  had  had  enough  of  it.  To  him  the  daily  round 
of  drink  and  cheap  disputes,  the  longing  for  his  wife 
and  kiddies,  the  heat,  the  mosquitos,  the  mold,  the  cheap 
beds  and  unvaried  fare,  the  weeks  during  which  the 
British  troops  had  virtually  camped  on  the  beach  in  the 
steady  downpouring  tropical  rains ;  the  inability  to  dream 
his  way  into  appreciation  of  South  Sea  life ;  the  necessity 
of  looking  upon  the  natives  as  possible  rebels;  suspicions 
of  the  few  Germans  there,  suspicions  of  every  new-comer, 
suspicions  of  even  the  death-dealing  sun, — no  wonder 
there  was  nothing  romantic  about  it  to  him ! 

But  as  we  wandered  along,  chatting  in  an  intimate 
way,  as  only  men  gone  astray  from  home  will  chat  when 
they  meet  on  the  highways  of  the  world,  he  seemed  to 
grow  more  cheerful.  Time  and  again  he  told  me  what  a 
relief  I  was  to  him,  how  being  able  really  to  talk  freely 
with  me  was  balm  to  his  troubled  spirit.  I  knew  that 
an  hour  after  my  departure  he  would  forget  all  about  me, 
that  there  was  nothing  permanent  in  his  regard,  that  I 
really  meant  nothing  to  him  beyond  an  immediate  release 
for  his  pent-up  mind, — but  I  felt  that  he  was  sincere. 

As  we  kicked  our  way  along  the  dusty  road  we  came 
to  a  stretch  where  the  palm-trees  stood  wide  apart.  The 
smooth  waters  covered  the  reefs,  and  a  million  moon- 
beams danced  over  them.  Within  the  palm  groves  camp- 
fires  blazed  beneath  domes  of  moon-splattered  thatch, 
and  from  all  directions  deep,  clear  voices  quickened  the 
night  air.  We  of  the  Northern  lands  do  not  know  what 
communal  life  is.  We  move  in  throngs,  we  crowd  the 
theaters,  we  crowd  the  summer  resorts, — but  still  we  do 
not  know  what  communal  life  is.  We  are  separate  icicles 
compared  with  the  people  of  the  tropics.  Only  to  one 
adrift  at  night  within  a  little  South  Sea  village  is  the 
meaning  of  human  commonalty  revealed.  It  seemed  to 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS  99 

touch  Heasley  as  nothing  had  done  before.  After  our 
little  conversation  he  appeared  relieved  and  receptive. 
"We  wandered  about  till  long  after  midnight,  long  after 
the  village  had  sung  itself  to  sleep,  even  then  reluctant 
to  take  to  our  musty  beds. 

Thus  did  one  day  pass  in  Samoa,  and  every  day  is  like 
the  other,  and  my  tale  is  told. 


I  tapped  one  man  after  another  in  Samoa  for  some 
personal  recollections  of  Stevenson,  but  without  success. 
At  last  I  heard  of  an  American  trader  who  had  been  an 
intimate  friend  of  B.  L.  S.  and  knew  more  about  him 
than  any  other.  So  to  him  I  went.  He  was  a  round- 
headed,  red-faced,  bald  individual  in  the  late  fifties, 
deeply  engrossed  in  the  sumptuous  accumulations  he  had 
made  during  more  than  a  quarter-century  of  residence 
in  Samoa.  His  reactions  to  my  declaration  of  interest 
in  Stevenson  made  me  think  he  was  turning  to  lock  his 
safe  and  order  his  guard,  but  instead  he  really  opened 
the  safe  and  dismissed  all  pretense.  In  other  words,  he 
realized,  it  seemed  to  me,  that  he  had  another  chance  of 
adding  luster  not  to  Stevenson,  but  to  himself.  Steven- 
son he  dismissed  with, '  *  Well,  you  know,  after  all  he  was 
just  like  other  men.  Often  he  was  disagreeable,  ill-tem- 
pered," etc.  The  thing  worth  while  was  the  fact  that 
he  had  written  a  book  about  Stevenson,  in  which  he  had 
exhausted  all  he  knew  of  the  man,  so  why  did  I  not  read 
that  and  not  bother  him  about  it?  I  felt  apologetic, 
almost  inclined  to  bow  myself  out,  backward,  when  he 
announced  that  he  too  had  written  stories  of  the  South 
Seas.  My  interest  was  whetted.  I  asked  to  be  shown. 
He  drew  from  among  his  bills  and  invoices  a  packet  of 
manuscripts,  and  handed  one  to  me  to  read.  I  thought  of 
Setu  and  his  enthusiasm  at  the  recognition  at  sea  of  the 
light  from  Vailima,  and  felt  that,  as  far  as  Stevenson's 
own  life  went,  Setu  was,  to  me  at  least,  more  important. 


100  THE  PACIFIC  TEIANQLE 

Notwithstanding  all  the  cynics  who  laugh  at  those  who 
come  to  Samoa  to  climb  to  Stevenson's  grave,  I  was 
determined  to  make  the  ascent.  I  could  get  no  one  to 
make  it  with  me.  At  five  o  'clock  in  the  morning  I  mus- 
tered what  energy  I  had  left  from  the  North,  ready  to 
spend  it  all  for  the  sake  of  seeing  Stevenson's  grave. 
By  six,  the  wind  was  already  warm  and  dragged  behind 
it  heavy  rain-clouds.  Hot  and  brain-fagged,  I  pressed 
on,  my  body  pushing  listlessly  forward  while  my  mind 
battled  with  the  temptation  to  turn  back.  Near  the  end 
of  European  Apia  I  turned  toward  the  hills,  into  a  wide 
avenue  cut  through  the  growths  of  shaggy  palms.  Sud- 
denly opening  out  from  the  main  street,  it  as  suddenly 
closes  up,  an  oblong  that  dissipates  in  a  narrow,  irregu- 
lar roadway  farther  on.  It  was  too  overgrown  to  indicate 
any  great  usefulness,  yet  in  the  history  of  roads,  none, 
I  believe,  is  more  unique.  In  the  days  when  Samoa  was 
the  scene  of  cheap  international  squabbles  among  Eng- 
land, France,  Germany,  and  America,  Stevenson,  the 
Scotsman,  mindful  of  the  fate  of  Scotland  and  of  the 
similarity  between  his  adopted  and  his  native  land,  stood 
by  the  natives  as  against  the  foreign  powers  (Germany 
in  particular).  He  took  up  the  challenge  for  Mataafa, 
courageously  cuddled  these  children  while  in  prison,  and 
won  their  everlasting  good-will.  Later,  as  a  mark  of 
gratitude,  they  decided  voluntarily  to  build  a  wide  road 
to  Vailima,  Stevenson's  home.  Their  ambitions  did  not 
live  long.  The  road  was  never  finished.  But  this  is 
indicative  not  of  diminished  gratitude,  but  of  the  over- 
whelming hopelessness  of  their  situation  in  face  of 
foreign  pressure  and  native  temperature. 

For  everything  in  the  tropics  seems  on  the  verge  of 
exhaustion,  a  keen  enthusiasm  in  life  which  finds  its  ebb 
before  it  has  reached  high  tide.  Only  a  supreme 
endeavor,  a  will  sharper  than  nature,  can  overcome  the 
spirit  of  non-resistance  which  condemns  native  life  from 
very  birth.  And  it  was  the  remnant  of  determination 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS  101 

bred  in  another  climate  that  carried  me  on  toward  the 
remains  of  the  object  of  that  gratitude  which  this  road 
symbolized. 

Vailima  was  four  miles  from  Apia,  hidden  within  a 
rich  tropical  growth  well  up  the  mountain  side.  Half 
the  time  I  rested  in  the  shade,  taking  my  cue  from  my 
idol  that  it  was  better  to  travel  than  to  arrive.  No  one 
was  about,  except  here  and  there  a  child  in  search  of 
fruit  dropped  from  the  tall  trees.  Presently  I  came  to 
a  set  of  wooden  buildings  on  the  road  which  upon  inves- 
tigation turned  out  to  be  the  temporary  barracks  for 
the  guard  of  Colonel  Logan,  commander  of  the  forces  of 
occupation.  The  soldiers  directed  me  most  cordially  to 
a  path  near  the  barracks,  and  there  a  board  sign 
announced  the  way  to  "STEVENSON'S  GRAVE." 

Crossing  a  creek  and  turning  to  the  right,  I  found 
myself  immediately  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Vaea.  At  this 
juncture  lay  a  small  concrete  pool  obviously  belonging 
to  the  cottage,  well-preserved  and  clean.  So  was  the 
path  upward.  Strange  contrasts  here,  for  both  pool  and 
path  were  the  result  of  the  private  interest  of  the  German 
Governor  of  Samoa  who,  despite  Stevenson's  bitter 
opposition  to  German  possession  of  the  islands,  had 
generously  had  the  path  cleared  and  widened  so  that 
lovers  of  the  great  man  might  visit  his  tomb  with  ease. 
It  had  been  neglected  for  ten  years  until  this  German 
reclaimed  it. 

For  a  decade  the  grave  lay  untended.  At  the  moment 
of  death,  the  silence  is  deep.  The  pain  is  too  fresh.  Out 
of  very  love  neglect  is  justifiable,  for  it  is  the  train  of 
dejected  mourners  who  cannot  think  of  niceties.  But  then 
come  the  "knockers  at  the  gate,"  they  who  know  nothing 
of  the  frailties  of  men  and  revel  in  an  immortality  that 
is  memory. 

I  paused  frequently  during  that  half -hour  climb.  Coo- 
ing doves  called  to  one  another  understandingly  across 
the  death-like  stillness  which  filled  the  valley  below. 


102  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

From  the  direction  of  Apia  came  the  sound  of  the  lali, 
which  seemed  only  to  quicken  mystery  into  being.  I 
breathed  more  heavily.  There,  alone  on  the  slopes  of 
that  peak,  with  the  only  thing  that  makes  it  memorable 
beneath  the  sod  on  the  summit,  I  felt  strangely  in  touch 
with  the  dead.  The  isolation  gave  distinction  to  him 
who  had  been  laid  there,  which  no  monument,  however 
superb,  can  give  in  the  crowded  graveyard.  The  per- 
sonality of  the  departed  hovers  round  in  the  silence. 

Still,  the  thought  of  death  itself  is  alien  here.  Fear  is 
barren.  One  climbs  on  with  an  easy,  smiling  recognition 
of  the  summit  of  all  things, — not  as  death,  but  as  life. 
Oh,  the  sweet  silence  that  muffles  all ! 

A  strange  relapse  into  the  ordinary  came  to  me  as  I 
reached  the  top.  I  took  a  picture  of  the  tomb,  gazed  out 
across  the  hazy  blue  world  about, — and  thought  of  noth- 
ing. I  was  not  disappointed,  nor  sad.  Had  I  found  my- 
self sinking,  dying,  I  believe  that  it  would  not  have  ruffled 
my  emotions  any  more  than  the  flight  of  a  bird  leaves 
ripples  in  the  air.  Below,  five  miles  away,  the  waves 
broke  upon  the  reefs  and  spread  in  smooth  foam  which 
reached  endlessly  toward  the  shore.  "It  is  better  to 
travel  than  to  arrive/'  they  seemed  to  say  to  me  across 
the  void. 

The  red  hibiscus  was  in  bloom  around  the  tomb.  A 
sweet-scented  yellow  flower  made  the  air  heavy  with  its 
rich  perfume.  The  trees  speckled  the  simple  concrete 
casing  over  the  grave  with  their  restless  little  shadow 
leaves.  The  spot  was  cool  and  free  from  growths.  And 
it  was,  then,  a  symbol  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  made  real. 

Glad  did  I  live  and  gladly  die 
And  I  laid  me  down  with  a  will. 

Savage,  child,  romancer,  literary  stylist,— all  have 
been  under  the  influence  of  this  wandering  Scotsman,  and 
the  manner  of  showing  him  love  and  gratitude  has  been 
not  in  imitation  only.  At  Monterey  in  California  he  was 
nursed  by  an  old  Frenchman  through  a  long  period  of 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS  103 

illness;  in  semi-savage  Samoa  men  untutored  in  our 
codes  of  affection  beat  not  a  path  but  a  road  to  his  door, 
and  carried  his  body  up  the  steep  slope  of  Mount  Vaea. 
And  the  month  before  I  stood  beside  his  tomb,  the  ashes 
of  his  wife  and  devoted  helpmate  were  deposited  beside 
him  by  his  stepdaughter,  who  had  journeyed  all  the  way 
from  California  to  unite  their  remains. 

Tusitala,  the  tale-teller,  the  natives  called  him,  and  in 
the  sheer  music  of  that  strange  word  one  senses  some- 
thing of  the  regard  it  was  meant  to  convey.  And  in  the 
years  to  come,  when  Samoans  become  a  nation  in  the 
Pacific,  part  of  the  Polynesian  group,  Tusitala  will  doubt- 
less be  one  of  the  heroes,  tales  of  whose  beneficence  will 
light  the  way  for  little  Polynesians  growing  to  man- 
hood. 

It  was  becoming  too  hot  up  there  on  the  peak  for  me 
before  breakfast-time  was  over,  so  I  slipped  down  into 
the  valley.  At  the  barracks  the  soldiers  invited  me  to 
have  a  bite  with  them.  The  simple  porridge,  the  crude 
utensils,  the  bare  benches  would  elsewhere  after  so  long 
a  walk  and  so  steep  a  climb  have  been  a  Godsend;  but 
here,  in  the  tropics,  it  seemed  that  more  would  have 
been  a  waste  of  human  life.  The  sergeant-at-arms  asked 
me  if  I  should  like  to  have  some  breadfruit.  He  stepped 
out  into  the  yard  and  gathered  a  round,  luscious  melon- 
like  fruit  which,  when  cut,  opened  the  doors  of  alimentary 
bliss  to  me.  The  trees  grow  in  bisexual  pairs,  male  and 
female,  the  female  tree  bearing  the  fruit. 

The  sergeant  then  took  me  to  Vailima,  Stevenson's 
last  home,  now  the  residence  of  the  governor-general. 
It  was,  of  course,  stripped  of  everything  which  once  was 
Stevenson's,  and  had  acquired  wings  and  porticos,  gaunt 
and  disproportioned.  I  could  not  work  up  any  senti- 
mental regret  at  this  change,  for  that  is  what  Stevenson 
himself  would  have  wished.  The  best  way  to  preserve 
a  thing  is  to  keep  it  growing.  Stevenson  worked  here 


104  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

for  four  years;  others  may  tamper  with  it  for  four 
hundred  years  without  completely  obliterating  the  char- 
acter given  it  by  its  first  maker. 

When  I  entered  I  was  somewhat  surprised  at  the 
hangings  on  the  walls.  Pictures  of  the  kaiser,  pretty 
scenes  along  the  Rhine,  German  castles, — what  had  they 
to  do  with  Stevenson?  what  with  Colonel  Logan  and 
British  occupation?  The  chambers  are  so  large  and  the 
woodwork  is  so  somber  that  these  pictures  fairly  shrieked 
out  at  one,  like  a  flock  of  eagles  in  high  altitudes.  I  felt 
almost  guilty,  myself,  simply  for  being  in  the  presence 
of  such  enemy  decorations,  and  remarked  about  them  to 
my  guide. 

"The  colonel  won't  touch  them,"  he  said,  respectfully. 
"They  are  the  property  of  the  German  Governor,  and 
till  the  disposition  of  the  islands  is  finally  settled,  the 
colonel  won't  move  them.  He  's  a  soldier,  y'  know." 

We  came  out  again  upon  the  veranda  just  in  time  to 
see  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Logan  arrive  in  their  trap.  He 
was  tall,  straight,  an  icy  chill  of  reserve  in  his  bearing. 
Mrs.  Logan  was  a  pretty  young  woman,  as  warm  and 
cordial  as  he  was  stiff.  He  preceded  her  up  the  steps 
and  was  saluted  by  the  sergeant  with  the  explanation  of 
my  presence. 

"Am  showing  this  gentleman  round  a  bit,"  he  said. 

"Has  he  had  a  look  round?"  said  the  colonel,  per- 
functorily, saluted  stiffly,  and  passed  by  as  though  I 
didn't  exist.  As  Mrs.  Logan  came  up  behind  she  sup- 
pressed a  smile  that  threatened  to  make  her  face  still 
more  charming,  and  the  two  passed  within. 

I  smiled  to  myself.  How  should  I  have  been  received 
had  Stevenson  come  up  those  steps  that  day?  To  the 
colonel  there  was  nothing  in  my  journey  to  the  tomb. 
Nor  was  there  anything  in  it  to  the  soldiers  at  the  bar- 
racks. Yet  the  fact  that  I  had  been  there  made  me  one 
of  them. 

"How  'd  ye  like  it!"  asked  a  soldier  on  my  return, 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS  105 

with  the  same  manner  as  though  I  had  gone  to  see  a 
cock-fight.  "Blaim  me  if  Oi  'd  climb  that  yer  'ill  on  a 
day  as  'ot  as  this  to  see  a  dead  man's  grave." 

They  asked  me  if  I  'd  like  to  take  a  swim  in  the  stream 
Stevenson  liked  so  well,  and  on  the  strength  of  my  great 
interest  three  of  them  got  leave  to  accompany  me.  They 
winked  to  me  when  the  sergeant  agreed.  We  wandered 
along,  jumping  fences,  crossing  a  grassy  slope,  and 
cutting  through  a  spare  woods.  The  bamboo-trees 
creaked  like  rusty  hinges.  Cocoa  plantations  stood  ripe 
for  picking.  The  luscious  mango  kept  high  above  our 
reach,  so  that  we  were  compelled  to  devise  means  of 
getting  at  it.  The  soldiers  seemed  concerned  about 
my  seeing  everything,  tasting  everything,  learning  every- 
thing the  place  afforded.  We  chatted  sociably,  plung- 
ing about  in  the  stream,  with  only  a  few  stray  natives 
looking  on.  Then  we  made  our  way  back  as  leisurely 
as  possible,  they  being  in  no  hurry  to  return  to  the  bar- 
racks. How  I  got  back  to  Apia  I  have  n't  the  faintest  rec- 
ollection. 

5 

I  had  set  out  to  see  the  world  without  any  definite  no- 
tion of  whither  I  was  drifting.  I  had  bartered  the  liquid 
sunshine  of  Hawaii  for  Fiji's  humid  shade,  and  twisted  a 
day  in  a  knot  between  Suva  and  Apia  so  that  I  hardly 
knew  whether  or  not  Fiji  was  more  devilishly  hot  than 
Samoa.  And  then  for  four  days  I  endured  the  stench 
of  ripening  bananas  in  the  hold  of  a  resurrected  vessel 
which,  if  ships  are  feminine,  as  sailors  seem  to  believe, 
was  decidedly  beyond  the  age  of  spinsterhood.  I  was 
headed  for  New  Zealand.  Little  wonder,  then,  that  when 
I  found  that  we  had  finally  arrived  with  our  olfactory 
senses  still  sane  and  were  about  to  land  in  a  real  country 
with  real  cities  and  a  social  life  dangerously  near  perfec 
tion,  I  felt  as  though  I  were  coming  to  after  ether. 

When  I  suddenly  found  myself  alone  on  the  streets 


106  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

of  Auckland,  a  sense  of  the  icy  chill  of  reserve  in  civiliza- 
tion came  over  me.  The  weeks  in  the  tropics  were  of 
the  past.  There,  though  the  faces  were  more  than 
strange  to  me  and  the  speech  quite  unintelligible,  there 
was  a  sense  of  human  kinship  which  stole  from  man 
to  man  through  the  still  air.  There  was  the  lali  thump- 
ing its  way  across  the  valley;  the  chatter  of  voices  by 
day,  the  mutter  of  voices  by  night  when  the  people  gath- 
ered beneath  their  thatched  roofs;  the  gradual  infusion 
of  native  melody  with  the  swish  of  palms  and  the  hiss 
of  the  sea;  call  answering  call  across  the  village;  songs 
with  that  deep,  primitive  harmony  which  effects  a  fer- 
ment of  emotion  not  in  one's  heart,  but  in  the  pit  of  the 
stomach.  In  such  a  place,  the  word  alone  has  no  mean- 
ing. One  cannot  be  a  stark  outsider.  Everything  is 
done  so  freely  and  sociably  that  even  the  stranger,  despite 
thousands  of  years  of  restraint  in  civilization,  merges 
into  an  at-one-ment  known  to  no  group  in  our  world. 

Social  life  in  New  Zealand  (as  in  all  white  commu- 
nities) contained  no  such  admixture.  Not  even  on  Sun- 
day, on  which  day  I  landed,  did  the  crowds  that  saunt- 
ered up  and  down  the  street,  present  any  kindred  close- 
ness. People  just  sauntered  back  and  forth  across  the 
three  or  four  business  blocks  known  as  Queens  Street. 
The  sweeps  and  curves  and  windings  which  were  its 
offshoots  made  a  short  thoroughfare  look  picturesque, 
but  they  were  just  flourishes.  They  did  not  lead  to  any- 
thing. And  one  immediately  returned  to  Queens  Street. 

There,  the  wheeled  traffic  having  been  withdrawn,  the 
people  leaving  church  flooded  the  wide  way,  coursing  up 
and  down  in  what  seemed  to  me  an  utterly  aimless  jour- 
ney between  the  monument  at  the  upper  fork  in  the  street 
and  the  piers  at  its  foot.  As  a  white  man's  city  goes, 
in  the  three-story  structures  and  spacious  business 
fronts,  and  the  massing  of  architecture  tapering  in  an 
occasional  turret,  there  was  stability  enough  in  the 
appearance  of  things. 


THE  SENTIMENTAL  SAMOANS  107 

There  were  jolly  flirtations,  girls  singly  and  in  pairs, 
some  mere  children  in  short  skirts,  gadding  about  with 
eyes  on  young  men  whom  they  doubtless  knew,  and  of 
whom  they  seemed  in  eternal  pursuit.  Groups  gathered 
for  political  or  religious  argument ;  platitudes  and  pleas- 
antries were  exchanged,  some  interesting,  some  dull,  sel- 
dom truly  cordial.  A  vague  suspicion  one  of  another 
was  manifest  in  every  relationship. 

Suddenly  the  crowd  vanished.  A  few  persistent  ones 
hung  about  the  lower  extremity  of  the  street  or  lurked 
about  the  piers,  spooning.  The  street  became  deserted. 
Not  a  sound  from  anywhere.  No  joyous  singing  under 
the  eaves,  no  flickering  lamp-lights  beneath  thatched 
roofs.  Blinds  drawn,  doors  locked.  Sunday  evening  in 
civilization!  I  had  returned. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   APHELION    OP  BRITAIN 


fT!  HERE  are  no  holy  places  in  New  Zealand,  none  of 
A  the  worn  and  curious  trappings  of  forgotten  civil- 
izations to  search  out  and  to  revere.  There  are  no  sign- 
posts which  lead  the  wanderer  along,  despite  himself,  in 
search  of  sacred  spots ;  no  names  which  make  life  worth 
while.  Whom  shall  he  try  to  see?  Is  there  a  Romain 
Rolland  or  a  Shaw,  or  an  Emerson  to  whom  he  could 
bow  in  that  reverence  which  invites  the  soul  rather  than 
bends  the  knee! 

There  are  only  boiling  fountains  and  snow-packed 
ranges  and  wild-waste  places  to  which  neither  man  nor 
beast  go  willingly.  Yet  an  unknown  urge  pushes  one 
on,  that  urge  which  from  time  immemorial  has  impelled 
saint  in  search  of  salvation,  and  age  in  search  of  youth, 
as  well  as  youth  in  search  of  adventure,  to  the  most  in- 
accessible reaches  of  the  world.  All  of  us  bring  back  ac- 
counts of  what  we  've  seen,  but  which  of  us  can  answer 
why  we  went? 

First  impressions  in  older  countries  are  generally 
confusing.  Ages  of  accumulations  pile  up,  covered  with 
the  dust  of  centuries  which  has  gone  through  innumer- 
able processes  of  sifting.  But  the  stranger  in  the  Antip- 
odes is  plunged  into  a  bath  of  youth.  Every  aspect 
of  the  country  is  young.  The  volcanoes  are  mostly 
extinct,  but  about  them  lurks  the  warmth  of  the  camp 
fire  just  died  down.  In  mountain,  bush,  and  plain  some- 
thing of  the  childhood  of  Mother  Earth  is  still  felt;  at 
most,  an  adolescence,  rich  in  possibilities.  One  almost 

108 


THE  APHELION  OF  BRITAIN  109 

feels  that  the  very  rivers  are  only  the  remnants  of  the 
receding  floods  after  the  rising  of  the  land  from  beneath 
the  sea.  There  is  nothing  old  anywhere.  Instead  of 
being  disappointed  at  the  apparent  paucity  of  man-made 
products,  one  is  greatly  surprised  that  so  little  and  young 
a  country  should  have  so  much.  There  is  room,  much 
room,  ample  acres  which  lie  fallow,  the  winds  of  oppor- 
tunity blowing  over  them,  wild  with  abandon. 

New  Zealand,  as  I  said,  was  a  kind  of  resting-place.  It 
was  the  point  where  the  lines  of  interest  in  the  native  peo- 
ples of  the  Pacific,  and  those  of  the  efforts  of  the  white 
men,  intersected,  just  as  later  I  was  to  find  a  point  of 
intersection  between  the  white  men  and  the  Orientals  at 
Hongkong.  For  here  the  new  social  life  of  the  South 
Pacific,  and  the  remnants  of  the  old  races  of  the  Pacific 
equally  divide  the  attention. 

I  had  some  little  difficulty  locating  Auckland  from  the 
steamer,  so  many  suburbs  littered  the  forty  miles  of  ir- 
regular bluff  which  surrounds  the  harbor.  The  homes 
upon  the  hills  seemed  reserved  and  unambitious.  There 
were  no  streams  of  smoke  from  factory  and  mill.  One 
felt,  at  the  moment  of  arrival,  that  were  it  morning,  noon, 
or  night,  whatever  the  season,  Auckland  would  still  be 
the  same,  and  New  Zealand  would  continue  to  be  proud  of 
the  resemblance  the  youngest  of  its  cities  has  for  its  par- 
ent. All  seemed  quiet,  restful  and  inactive. 

If  all  these  were  inactive,  not  so  the  human  elements. 
Their  rumblings  on  localisms  were  to  be  heard  even 
before  we  landed.  As  a  new-comer,  I  was  made  aware 
of  Wellington,  the  capital,  and  its  winds;  of  the  city  of 
Christchurch  and  its  plains;  of  prides  and  jealousies 
which  provincial  patriots  acclaimed  in  good-natured 
playfulness.  Dunedin's  raininess  was  said  to  have  been 
a  special  providence  for  the  benefit  of  the  Scotch  who 
have  isolated  themselves  there.  The  wonders  of  this 
place  and  the  beauty  of  that  broke  through  the  mists  of 
my  imagination  like  tiny  star-holes  through  the  night. 


110  THE  PACIFIC  TEIANGLE 


I  had  returned  to  civilization,  and  though  all  my 
instincts  settled  into  an  assurance  which  was  comfort- 
ing, a  feeling  that  dengue  fever  was  no  more,  that  damp 
and  moldy  beds  and  smell  of  copra  would  not  again  be 
mingled  with  my  food  and  slumber,  still,  I  knew  I  was  not 
a  part  of  it.  Almost  immediately  my  mind  began  mov- 
ing spiral-like,  outward  and  upward,  to  escape.  I  was 
to  do  it  all  in  a  month.  I  was  to  see  Auckland,  with  its 
neighbor,  Mt.  Eden,  an  extinct  volcano;  I  was  to  visit 
the  other  large  cities, — vaguely  their  existence  was 
becoming  real  to  me, — I  was  to  penetrate  at  least  some 
of  New  Zealand's  dangerous  bush,  to  see  the  primitive- 
civilized  lives  of  the  native  Maories.  But,  strange  to  say, 
return  to  civilization  had  the  identical  effect  on  me  that 
return  to  primitive  life  is  said  to  have  on  the  white  man. 
It  entered  my  being  in  the  form  of  indolence.  I  did  not 
want  to  move.  I  wanted  to  rest.  To  stay  a  while  in 
that  place,  to  make  myself  part  of  the  life  of  the  city, 
to  remain  fixed,  became  a  burning  desire  with  me.  And 
days  went  by  without  my  being  able  to  stir  myself  on 
again. 

The  life  in  the  Dominion  was  conducive  to  ease  and 
dreaming.  Nobody  seemed  in  any  hurry  about  anything, 
least  of  all  about  taking  you  in.  Every  one  went  upon 
a  way  long  worn  down  by  the  tread  of  familiar  feet.  The 
conflicts  of  pioneer  aggressiveness  were  over.  The  dif- 
ferences between  the  aboriginal  and  the  foreign  elements 
were  lost  in  the  overpowering  crowding  in  of  the  alien. 
The  stone  and  wooden  structures,  the  railways  and  the 
piers,  the  homes  wandering  along  over  the  hills  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  see,  completely  concealed  that  which 
originally  was  New  Zealand. 

I  spent  one  month  wandering  up  and  down  Auckland's 
one  main  street,  and  I  can  assure  you  it  was  like  no 
other  main  street  in  the  world,  except  those  of  every 


THE  APHELION  OF  BBITAIN  111 

other  city  in  New  Zealand.  There  were  the  carts  and 
the  cars  by  day,  and  the  clearing  of  the  pavement  of 
every  vehicle  for  pedestrian  parades  by  night.  There 
were  the  carnivals  and  the  fetes  on  Queens  Street,  and 
on  every  other  royal  highway  during  the  summer  months ; 
and  during  the  two  hours  which  New  Zealanders  require 
for  lunch,  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  lunch  too. 
And  then  on  Sunday  nights  there  was  the  confusion  of 
cults  and  isms  each  with  its  panacea  for  spiritual  and 
social  ills.  Nobody  was  expected  to  do  anything  but  go 
to  church ;  hence  the  street  cars  did  n't  run  during  church 
hours,  and  the  bathing-places  were  closed.  And  after 
ten  o'clock  it  was  as  impossible  to  get  a  cup  of  tea  out- 
side one's  own  home  as  it  is  to  get  whisky  in  an  open 
saloon  in  New  York  to-day. 

On  the  Niagara  I  had  been  assured  by  a  young  lady 
from  New  Zealand  that  we  Americans  didn't  know  what 
home  life  was  and  that  she  would  show  me  the  genuine 
thing  when  I  got  to  her  little  country.  She  did,  and  I 
have  been  most  grateful  to  her  for  it.  It  was  sober  and 
clean  and  quiet,  and  I  accepted  with  great  satisfaction 
every  invitation  offered  me,  because  it  was  a  thousand 
times  better  than  being  alone  on  the  deserted  streets. 
But  the  good  Lord  was  wise  when  He  made  provision  for 
one  Sunday  a  week,  as  His  human  creation  could  hardly 
endure  it  more  frequently;  and  that  is  what  one  might 
say  of  New  Zealand  home  life.  It  is  all  that  is  good 
and  wholesome,  all  that  is  necessary  for  the  rearing  of 
unobstreperous  young,  but  red  blood  should  not  be  made 
to  run  like  syrup,  though  I  quite  agree  with  my  New 
Zealand  friend  that  it  should  not  be  kept  at  the  boiling- 
point,  either.  Our  evenings  were  usually  spent  in  quiet 
chatting  on  safe  generalities  interspersed  with  home 
songs  and  nice  cocoa ;  and  at  ten  o  'clock  we  would  sepa- 
rate. I  hope  that  my  New  Zealand  friends  will  not  feel 
hurt  at  what  I  say.  Let  them  put  it  down  to  my  wild- 
Americanism.  But  home  life  on  a  Sunday  evening  was 


112  THE  PACIFIC  TEIANGLE 

not  worth  going  all  the  way  diagonally  across  the  Pacific 
to  taste. 

Hence,  a  month  in  Auckland  was  quite  enough  for  me. 
By  that  time  the  call  of  the  mountains  and  lakes  had 
come  to  me,  and  in  natural  beauty  New  Zealand  can  rival 
any  other  country  of  its  size  I  have  ever  been  to,  except 
Japan.  In  answering  that  call  I  accepted  the  swagger 's 
account  of  how  life  should  be  lived  and  took  to  the  open 
road.  In  the  year  that  followed  I  filled  my  mem- 
ory with  treasures  that  cannot  be  classified  in  any  sum- 
mary. From  Auckland  in  the  North  Island  to  Dunedin 
in  the  South  Island  I  journeyed  on  foot  through  three 
long  months,  zigzagging  my  way  virtually  from  coast  to 
coast,  dreaming  away  night  after  night  along  the  great 
Waikato  River,  holding  taut  my  soul  in  the  face  of  the 
mysteries  of  the  hot-springs  districts,  and  quenching 
feverish  experiences  upon  the  shores  of  placid  cold  lakes 
and  beneath  snow-covered  peaks  of  mountain  ranges 
thirteen  thousand  feet  high ;  gripping  my  reason  during 
long  night  tramps  in  the  uninhabited  bush  (forests) 
or  in  Desolation  Gully,  forty  miles  from  nowhere.  I 
know  what  wild  life  in  New  Zealand  is,  as  well  as  tame. 
It  is  not  all  that  it  used  to  be  when  men  left  their  home 
lands  for  that  new  start  in  life  which  Heaven  knows 
every  man  is  entitled  to,  considering  what  our  notions 
of  childhood  are  and  the  eagerness  of  man  to  pounce 
upon  any  one  who  has  not  reached  insurmountable  suc- 
cess. 

In  between  I  saw  the  courageous  struggles  these  self- 
same men  have  gone  through  and  are  still  enduring  in 
order  to  make  of  the  whole  of  New  Zealand  what  it  is 
as  yet  only  in  parts.  Those  parts  are  rich  farm  lands, 
with  swiftly  scouting  motor-cars  used  by  great  capitalist- 
farmers  who  have  more  than  one  station  to  look  after. 
It  is  a  strange  phenomenon  of  New  Zealand  life  that 
the  small  farm  towns  are  generally  much  more  alert  and 
progressive  than  the  big  cities.  The  New  Zealanders 


DUNEDIN,    NEW  ZEALAND 

From  the  belt  of  wild  wood  that  girdles  the  city 


BRIDGES  ARE   STILL   LUXURIES   IN    MANY   PLACES   IN    NEW   ZEALAND 


Poet  Card.     J.  B.  Series  No.  205 

THE   FIORDS  AND   SOUNDS   OF   NEW  ZEALAND 
The  pride  of  the  Dominion 


LAKE   WANAKA,    NEW  ZEALAND 


THE  APHELION  OF  BEITAIN  113 

build  houses  that  look  like  transplanted  suburbs  from 
around  New  York,  and  bring  to  their  villages  some  of 
the  love  of  plant  life  that  the  city-dweller  is  soon  too 
sophisticated  to  share.  They  draw  out  to  themselves 
the  moving-picture  theaters,  which  are  now  the  all-pos- 
sessing rage  in  the  Dominion  as  elsewhere,  and  read  the 
latest  periodicals  with  the  interest  of  the  townsman. 
There  are  over  a  thousand  newspapers  in  the  Dominion, 
which  for  a  population  of  a  million  is  a  goodly  number, 
though  one  cannot  regard  this  as  too  great  an  indication 
of  the  intellectual  advancement  of  the  people.  Yet  lit- 
eracy is  the  possession  of  the  farmer  as  much  as  and 
frequently  more  than  the  city-dweller  in  New  Zealand. 
His  children  go  to  school  even  if  they  have  to  use  the 
trains  to  get  there;  free  railway  passes  on  these  are 
accorded  by  the  Government.  And  on  the  whole  the 
farmer's  life  in  New  Zealand  is  richer  than  that  of  most 
rural  communities.  But  the  struggle  is  still  great.  I 
have  seen  some  who  do  not  feel  that  the  promise  is 
worth  it. 

Though  each  of  the  big  cities  in  the  Dominion  has  its 
own  special  characteristics,  they  are  all  considerably 
alike.  The  three  chief  ones  are  all  port  cities  of  about 
80,000  inhabitants  each,  and  except  for  the  fact  that 
Dunedin  in  the  far  south  is  essentially  Scotch  and  some- 
what more  stolid  than  the  rest,  and  Wellington  in  the 
center  is  the  capital  of  the  Dominion  and  therefore  sus- 
picious, one  may  go  up  and  down  their  steep  hills  with- 
out any  change  in  one's  social  gears.  The  colonial 
atmosphere  is  at  once  charming  and  chilling.  There  is 
a  certain  sobriety  throughout  which  makes  up  for  lack 
of  the  luxuries  of  modern  life.  But  one  cannot  escape 
the  conviction  that  regularity  is  not  all  that  man  needs. 
Everything  moves  along  at  the  pace  of  a  river  at  low 
level, — broad,  spacious,  serene,  but  without  hidden  places 
to  explore  or  sparkling  peaks  of  human  achievement  to 
emulate.  One  paddles  down  the  stream  of  New  Zea- 


114  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

land  life  without  the  prospect  of  thrills.  One  might  be 
transported  from  Auckland  in  the  north  to  Wellington 
or  Dunedin  in  the  south  during  sleep,  and  after  waking 
set  about  one 's  tasks  without  realizing  that  a  change  had 
been  made. 

,  Every  city  is  well  lighted;  good  trams  (trolley-cars) 
convey  one  in  all  directions,  but  at  an  excessively  high 
fare;  the  water  and  sewerage  systems  are  never  com- 
plained of;  the  theaters  are  good  and  the  shops  full  of 
things  from  England  and  America.  There  are  even  many 
fine  motor-cars.  But  there  are  few  signs  of  great  wealth, 
though  comparatively  big  fortunes  are  not  unknown.  It 
is  rumored  that  ostentation  is  never  indulged  in,  as  the 
attitude  of  the  people  as  a  whole  is  averse  to  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  neither  are  there  any  signs  of 
extreme  poverty,  though  it  exists;  and  slums  to  harbor 
it.  While  the  usual  evils  of  social  life  obtain,  the  small 
community  life  makes  it  impossible  for  them  to  become 
rampant.  Every  one  knows  every  one  else  and  that 
which  is  taboo,  if  indulged  in,  must  be  carried  out  with 
such  extreme  secrecy  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  any 
blemish  to  appear  upon  the  face  of  things. 

In  these  circumstances,  one  is  immediately  classified 
and  accepted  or  rejected,  according  as  one  is  or  is  not 
acceptable.  Having  recognized  certain  outstanding  fea- 
tures of  the  gentleman  in  you,  the  New  Zealander  is 
Briton  enough  to  accept  you  without  further  ado.  There 
is  in  a  sense  a  certain  naivete  in  his  measurement  of  the 
stranger.  He  is  frank  in  questioning  your  position  and 
your  integrity,  but  shrinks  from  carrying  his  suspicions 
too  far.  He  will  ask  you  bluntly:  "Are  you  what  you 
say  you  are  ? ' '  "  Of  course  I  am, ' '  you  say.  ' '  Then  come 
along,  mate."  But  he  does  not  take  you  very  far,  not 
because  he  ,is  niggardly,  but  because  he  is  thrifty. 

As  a  result  of  this  New  Zealand  spirit  I  found  myself 
befriended  from  one  end  of  New  Zealand  to  the  other 
by  a  single  family,  the  elder  brother  having  given  me 


THE  APHELION  OF  BRITAIN  115 

letters  of  introduction  to  every  one  of  Ms  kin, — in  Hamil- 
ton, Palmerston  North,  Wellington,  Christchurch,  and 
Dunedin.  And  with  but  two  or  three  exceptions  I  have  al- 
ways found  New  Zealanders  generous  and  open-hearted. 
Wherever  I  went,  once  I  broke  through  a  certain  shyness 
and  reserve,  I  found  myself  part  of  the  group,  though 
generally  I  did  not  remain  long,  because  I  felt  that  new 
sensations  could  not  be  expected. 

My  one  great  difficulty  was  in  keeping  from  falling  in 
love  with  the  New  Zealand  girls.  Eosy-cheeked,  sturdy, 
silently  game  and  rebellious,  they  know  what  it  is  to  be 
flirtatious.  For  them  there  is  seldom  any  other  way 
out  of  their  loneliness.  Only  here  and  there  do  parents 
think  it  necessary  to  give  their  daughters  any  social  life 
outside  the  home.  In  these  days  of  the  movies,  New 
Zealand  girls  are  breaking  away  from  knitting  and  home 
ties.  But  even  then  few  girls  care  to  preside  at  repre- 
sentations of  others*  love-affairs  without  the  opportunity 
of  going  home  and  practising,  themselves.  Hence  the 
streets  are  filled  with  flirtatious  maidens  strolling  four 
abreast,  hoping  for  a  chance  to  break  into  the  couples 
and  quartets  of  young  men  who  choose  their  own  manly 
society  in  preference  to  that  of  expensive  girls.  I  have 
seen  these  groups  pass  one  another,  up  and  down  the 
streets,  frequent  the  tea-houses  and  soda  fountains,  carry 
on  their  flirtations  from  separate  tables,  pay  for  their 
own  refreshments  or  their  own  theater  tickets;  but  real 
commingling  of  the  sexes  in  public  life  is  not  pronounced. 

At  the  beaches !  That  is  different.  There  the  dunes 
and  bracken  are  alive  with  couples  all  hours  of  the  day 
or  night  during  the  holiday  and  summer  seasons. 
Thence  emerge  engagements  and  hasty  marriages,  nor 
can  parental  watchfulness  guard  against  it. 


The  most  difficult  thing  in  all  my  New  Zealand  ex- 
periences was  to  reconcile  the  latent  conservatism  of  the 


116  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

people  with  their  outstanding  prqgressivness.  It  would 
be  easy  to  assert  without  much  fear  of  contradiction  that 
notwithstanding  all  the  talk  of  radicalism  in  the  matter 
of  labor  legislation  there  is  little  of  it  in  practice  in  the 
Dominion.  The  reason  for  this  is  twofold.  First,  New 
Zealand,  unlike  Australia  and  America,  was  not  a  rebel- 
lious offshoot  of  England,  not  a  protest  against  Old- 
World  curtailment.  Quite  the  contrary,  it  was  made 
in  the  image  of  the  mother  country,  and  natural  selection 
for  the  time  being  was  dormant.  Furthermore,  it  was 
simple  for  labor  to  dominate  in  a  country  where  labor 
was  to  be  had  only  at  that  premium. 

Nowhere  in  the  whole  Dominion  did  I  come  across  con- 
crete evidence  of  awakened  consciousness  on  the  part 
of  the  masses  to  their  opportunities.  None  of  that  fever- 
ish haste  to  raise  monuments  of  achievement  to  accom- 
pany the  legislative  enactments  which  have  given  New 
Zealand  an  illustrious  place  among  the  nations.  True, 
the  country  is  young;  true,  there  are  not  enough  people 
there  to  pile  creation  on  creation.  But  that  is  not  it.  It 
is  that  they  are  not  keyed  up  to  any  great  notions  of  what 
they  ought  to  expect  of  themselves,  but  are  content  with 
what  freedom  and  leisure  of  life  they  possess. 

Throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  two  islands, 
islands  more  than  two  thirds  the  size  of  Japan,  there 
isn't  an  outstanding  structure  of  any  great  architectural 
value;  there  is  n't  a  statue  or  a  monument  of  artistic  im- 
portance ;  there  is  hardly  a  painting  of  exceptional  qual- 
ity ;  nor,  with  all  the  remarkable  beauty  of  nature  which  is 
New  Zealand's,  is  there  any  poetic  outpouring  of  love 
of  nature  that  one  would  expect  from  a  people  heirs  to 
some  of  the  finest  poetry  in  the  world.  Even  British 
India  has  its  Kipling  and  its  Tagore.  With  all  the  ex- 
cellence of  their  efforts  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  wel- 
fare of  the  masses,  New  Zealanders  show  no  excessive 
largeness  of  heart  in  the  sort  of  welcome  they  extend  to 
labor  of  other  lands.  Here,  it  would  seem,  is  a  land 


THE  APHELION  OF  BRITAIN  117 

where  the  world  may  well  be  reborn,  where  there  is 
every  opportunity  for  the  correction  of  age-long  wrongs 
that  have  become  too  much  a  part  of  Europe  for  Euro- 
peans to  resent  them  too  heartily.  Yet  what  is  New 
Zealand  doing  and  what  has  it  done  in  seventy-five  years 
to  approximate  Utopia? 

This  is  not  meant  as  a  criticism  of  New  Zealand ;  rather 
is  it  meant  to  let  New  Zealand  know  that  the  eyes  of  the 
world  are  upon  it  and  expect  much  from  it.  Possession 
may  be  nine  points  of  the  law ;  but  the  utilization  of  op- 
portunity which  possession  entails  is  the  tenth  point 
toward  the  retention  of  that  which  one  has. 

Babies  are  cared  for  better  in  New  Zealand  than  any 
other  place  in  the  world,  yet  boys  and  girls  still  receive 
that  antiquated  form  of  correction,  corporal  punishment, 
and  thought  of  letting  the  youth  find  his  own  salvation, 
with  guidance  only,  not  coercion,  is  still  alien  to  the  New 
Zealand  pedagogic  mind.  Women  have  had  the  vote  for 
over  twenty-five  years,  but  the  freedom  of  woman  to  seek 
her  own  development,  to  become  a  factor  in  the  social 
life  of  the  community  apart  from  the  man's,  is  still  a 
neglected  dream.  And  young  women  are  dying  of  ennui 
because  they  aren't  given  enough  to  do.  The  country 
is  fairly  rich,  with  its  enormous  droves  of  sheep,  great 
pastures  full  of  cattle,  its  cooperative  capitalistic  farm- 
ing-schemes ;  but  the  human  genius  for  beauty  and  self- 
expression  must  find  opportunity  in  Britain  or  America. 
And  even  the  old  romance  of  pioneer  life  is  virtually  of 
the  past.  In  all  my  wanderings  I  came  across  only  one 
home  that  made  me  throw  out  my  emotional  chest  to 
contain  the  spirit  of  the  pioneer  life  of  which  we  all  love 
to  hear.  It  was  a  house  as  rough  as  it  was  old,  laden 
with  shelving  and  hung  with  guns,  horns,  and  litho- 
graphs, and  cheered  by  a  blazing  open  fire, — an  early 
virility  New  Zealand  has  now  completely  outgrown. 
The  house  must  have  been  fifty  years  old,  to  judge  from 
the  Scotsman  living  there.  He  was  keen,  alert,  and 


118  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

quick,  a  most  interesting  opponent  in  discussion,  most 
firm  in  his  beliefs  without  being  offensive.  Here,  in 
the  very  heart  of  one  of  the  earliest  of  New  Zealand's 
settlement  districts  in  the  South  Island,  he  lived  with 
his  family;  and  something  of  the  old  sweetness  of  life, 
the  atmosphere  of  successful  conquest,  obtained.  And 
ever  as  I  dug  down  into  New  Zealand's  past,  I  found  it 
charming.  The  present  is  too  steeped  in  cheap  machine 
processes  to  be  either  durable  or  really  satisfying. 

Discouraging  as  this  may  sound,  he  who  has  lived  in 
the  little  Dominion  and  has  learned  to  love  its  people  and 
their  ways,  hastens  to  contradict  his  own  charges.  For 
in  time,  as  one  becomes  better  acquainted,  one  finds  a 
healthy  discontent  brewing  beneath  that  apathetic  ex- 
terior. Just  as  the  Chinese  will  do  anything  to  "save 
face"  so  the  Briton  will  do  anything  not  to  "lose  face." 
He  loses  much  of  his  latent  charm  in  so  restricting  him- 
self, but  when  assured  that  a  new  convention  is  afoot 
and  that  it  is  safe  for  him  to  venture  forth  with  it,  he 
will  do  so  with  a  zest  that  is  itself  worth  much. 

Furthermore,  there  is  in  the  atmosphere  of  staid  New 
Zealand  life  a  passion  for  the  out-of-doors  which  is  worth 
more  than  all  the  Greenwich  Village  sentiment  twice 
over.  Girls  are  always  just  as  happy  in  the  open  and 
more  interesting  than  when  indulging  in  cigarettes  and 
exposing  shapely  legs  in  intellectual  parlors.  Given 
twenty  million  people  instead  of  one  New  Zealand  would 
blossom  forth  into  one  of  the  loveliest  flowers  of  the 
Pacific. 


In  the  Auckland  (New  Zealand)  Art  Gallery  hangs 
a  picture  representing  the  coming  of  the  Maories  to 
New  Zealand.  Their  long  canoe  is  filled  with  emaciated 
people  vividly  suggesting  the  suffering  and  privation 
they  must  have  undergone  in  coming  across  the  main- 
land some  four  hundred  years  ago.  Venturing  with- 


THE  APHELION  OF  BRITAIN  119 

out  sail  or  compass,  these  daring  Polynesians  must  have 
possessed  intrepid  and  courageous  natures. 

Yet  at  the  time  I  was  in  that  gallery  the  place  was  full 
of  stifled  boyish  laughter.  A  half-dozen  little  tots,  with 
spectacles  and  school-bags,  one  with  blazing  red  hair, 
had  come  to  see  the  pictures.  They  were  not  Maori 
children,  but  the  offspring  of  the  white  race,  which  less 
than  a  hundred  years  ago  came  in  their  sailing-vessels 
and  steamers,  with  powder  and  lead,  and  took  with  com- 
parative ease  a  land  won  by  such  daring  travail. 

I  had  heard  much  of  these  natives, — idyllic  tales  of 
their  charm  and  the  lure  of  their  maidens.  Those  lovely 
Maori  girls!  I  expected  to  see  them  crowding  the 
streets  of  Auckland.  But  they  were  conspicuous  by 
their  absence.  Occasionally  a  few  could  be  seen  squat- 
ting on  the  sidewalks,  more  strangers  to  the  city  than  I, 
more  outstanding  from  the  display  of  color  and  manner 
which  thronged  Queens  Street  than  any  American  could 
be  in  so  ultra  a  British  community  as  dominates  New 
Zealand.  Where  are  the  Maories?  I  wondered.  Upon 
their  "reservations"  like  our  own  Amerinds,  or  lost  to 
their  own  costumes  and  even  to  their  own  blood  and  color  ? 

I  had  returned  to  Auckland  from  a  visit  with  a  friend 
whose  wife  was  Maori,  in  the  company  of  her  nephew. 
He  carried  with  him  a  basket  of  eels  as  a  gift  to  his 
mother,  and  walked  up  the  street  with  me.  At  a  corner 
he  was  hailed  by  a  dark-skinned  man  in  a  well-cut  busi- 
ness suit,  and  said,  "  There  is  my  father.  I  must  leave 
you. ' '  In  another  moment  he  was  in  a  large  touring  car 
and  was  whizzed  away  by  his  Maori  father  at  the  wheel. 
No  wonder  I  hadn't  been  able  to  see  any  Maories. 

I  visited  a  school  where  Maori  boys  are  being  encour- 
aged to  artificial  exercises, — sports,  hurdle-jumping, 
running.  I  watched  them  make  ready,  eager  for  the 
petty  prizes  offered.  Off  went  their  shoes,  out  went  their 
chests,  expanded  with  ancestral  joy.  In  their  bare  feet, 
still  as  tough  as  in  former  days  before  they  were  in- 


120  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

duced  to  buy  cowhides,  they  skipped  over  the  ground, 
filled  for  the  moment  with  the  glory  of  being  alive.  Their 
faces  broke  out  in  fantastic,  native  grimaces  and  con- 
tortions as  though  an  imaginary  enemy  confronted  them. 
But  alas,  they  were  seeking  him  in  the  wrong  direction ! 
The  enemy  comes  with  no  spears,  and  no  clang,  but  he 
is  more  deadly.  He  is  not  without  but  within.  He  makes 
them  cough.  They  fall  behind. 

1 1  They  do  not  last  long, ' '  said  the  Briton  who  was  in- 
structing them.  "They  are  dying  rapidly  of  consump- 
tion. As  long  as  we  keep  them  here  in  school  they  are 
all  right.  Finer  specimens  of  human  physique  could  not 
be  found  anywhere.  But  as  soon  as  they  return  to  their 
pas,  and  live  in  the  squalor  of  the  native  villages,  they 
return  to  all  the  old  methods  of  life  and  soon  go  under. ' ' 

I  set  out  on  my  tramp  through  New  Zealand.  At 
Bombey,  a  few  days'  jaunt  from  Auckland,  I  met  an 
old  settler,  whose  accounts  of  the  great  and  last  war  of 
the  redcoats  with  the  fierce  fighters  of  Maoriland  dated 
back  to  our  own  Civil  War,  1861-64.  Until  that  time 
both  Maories  and  Britons  said,  with  few  exceptions, 
"Our  races  cannot  mix.  One  or  the  other  of  us  must 
give  away."  Naturally,  the  Maories  had  the  prior 
claim,  but  they  finally  yielded,  surrendering  their  lands 
to  the  aliens  at  Ngaruawahia,  "The  Meeting  of  the 
Waters/'  that  little  hamlet  lying  in  the  crotch  between 
the  beautiful  Waikato  Eiver  and  one  of  its  tributaries. 
And  henceforward,  the  two  races  were  constrained  to 
meet,  and  rush  down  together  into  that  green  sea  of 
human  commonalty,  albeit  one  of  them  contributes  the 
dominant  volume. 

Maori  legend  has  it  that  the  Maories  are  the  descend- 
ants of  the  great  Rangatira  (chief)  who  was  the  off- 
spring of  a  similarly  great  Tanewa  (shark).  He  was 
born  in  the  dark  southern  caves  of  the  Tongariro  Moun- 
tains, and  the  spirits  of  their  ancestors  have  always 
dwelt  along  the  broad  WaikatOj  Along  thi§  river  I  wan- 


THE  APHELION  OF  BRITAIN  121 

dered  for  many  days,  but  I  found  few  of  the  Rangatira's 
descendants.  If  one  is  quiet  and  alone  the  voice  of  the 
great  Tanewa  will  call  softly  through  the  marsh  rushes 
from  out  of  the  heart  of  the  quivering  flax.  It  is  peace- 
ful and  encompassing,  modest  and  almost  afraid.  I 
heard  it  and  I  am  sure  those  Maories  hear  it  who  are 
not  too  engrossed  in  the  scramble  after  foreign  trinkets. 
It  said : '  *  The  last  mortal  or  man  descendant  of  mine  will 
be  the  offspring  of  a  Pakeha-Maori  (a  white  man  who 
lives  among  the  Maories)  who  will  live  in  the  cities  and 
rush  about  in  motor-cars,  but  I  shall  remain  in  the 
marshes,  the  calm  rivers,  and  near  the  glittering  leaves 
of  flax." 

A  few  miles  farther  on  I  came  to  Huntley,  and  hearing 
that  there  was  a  native  village  across  the  Waikato  River, 
I  turned  thither  by  way  of  the  bridge.  I  overtook  two 
wahines,  slovenly,  indolent,  careless  in  their  manners. 
They  spoke  to  me  flippantly.  They  wanted  to  know  if  I 
was  bound  for  the  missionaries '  place.  This  led  to  ques- 
tions from  me :  Why  were  they  turning  Mormon?  Which 
sect  did  they  prefer?  But  I  could  obtain  answers  only 
by  innuendo.  I  left  these  two  women  behind  and  found 
three  others  chasing  a  pig  in  an  open  field,  three  boys 
bathing  a  horse  in  the  deep  river.  All  about  the  village 
was  strewn  refuse ;  vicious  dogs  slunk  hungrily  about, — 
neglect,  neglect,  on  every  hand.  But  instead  of  flimsy 
native  huts  there  were  wooden  shacks  with  corrugated 
iron  roofs,  the  longer  to  remain  unregenerate,  breeders 
of  disease  and  wasters  of  human  energy. 

But  the  more  elaborate  native  village  at  Rotorua,  at 
the  other  end  of  the  island,  where  visitors  are  frequent, 
was  more  up-to-date  and  cleaner.  And  on  a  little  knoll 
was  a  model  of  an  old  Maori  pah,  such  as  was  used  in 
the  days  before  guns  made  it  possible  to  fight  in  ambush 
and  in  the  valleys,  and  brought  the  sturdy  savages  down 
not  only  from  their  more  wholesome  heights  but  from 
their  position  of  vantage  as  a  race. 


122  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

Here  I  met  an  odd  sort  of  article  in  the  way  of  human 
ware.  Only  seventeen,  he  was  twice  my  size,  and  lazy 
and  pliable  in  proportion.  He  would  come  into  my 
room  and  just  stay.  With  a  steady,  piercing,  yet  stolid 
and  almost  epileptic  stare,  cunning,  yet  not  shrewd,  not 
steady,  nor  guided  by  any  evident  train  of  thought,  he 
would  watch  me  write.  I  was  a  mystery  to  him,  and  he 
frankly  doubted  the  truth  of  things  I  told  him. 

First  he  said  I  had  the  build  of  a  prize-fighter;  then, 
perhaps  on  thinking  it  over,  he  doubted  that  I  had  ever 
done  any  hard  work  in  my  life.  As  to  himself,  he  said 
he  loved  to  break  in  wild  horses.  His  father,  according 
to  one  tale,  was  wealthy;  two  of  his  brothers  were  engi- 
neers on  boats.  But  he  hated  study.  He  was  altogether 
lacking  in  any  notion  of  time,  but  he  was  not  lazy.  He 
was  even  ready  to  do  work  that  was  not  his  to  do. 

One  afternoon  he  was  in  a  most  jovial  mood.  He  was 
about  to  have  a  tent  raised  in  which  he  would  spend  the 
summer,  instead  of  the  hotel  room  allotted  to  the  help. 
He  was  full  of  glee  at  the  prospect.  Primitive  instincts 
seemed  to  waken  in  him.  But  there  was  a  sudden  reac- 
tion,— whimsical.  We  had  stepped  upon  the  lawn  which 
afforded  an  open  view  across  Lake  Rotorua. 

"Strange,  isn't  it,"  he  said  without  any  preamble, 
"how  money  goes  from  one  man  to  another,  from  here 
to  Auckland  and  to  Sydney?  So  much  money. "  Hebe- 
came  reminiscent:  "Maories  didn't  know  a  thing  about 
money.  They  were  rich.  See,  across  this  lake, — that 
little  island, — the  whole  was  once  a  battle-field.  The 
Maories  went  out  in  their  canoes  and  fought  with  their 
battle-axes.  What  for?  Oh,  to  gain  lands.  But  now 
they  are  poor.  Things  are  so  dead  here  now.  Nothing 
doing. ' '  A  moment  later  he  was  called  and  disappeared. 
It  was  the  only  time  he  was  ever  communicative.  The 
tent  had  roused  in  him  racial  regrets. 

One  evening  he  came  up  to  my  door  and  told  me  there 
was  a  dance  at  the  hall,  and  that  he  was  going  to  it. 


THE  APHELION  OF  BRITAIN  123 

Again  that  strange  revival  of  racial  memories,  but  these 
of  hope  and  prospect,  came  into  his  face,  "I  'm  going  to 
take  my  'tart'  (girl)  with  me,"  he  announced.  And  later 
in  the  evening,  as  I  sat  alone,  watching  the  moon  rise  over 
the  lake,  the  laughter  of  those  Maories  rang  out  across 
the  hills. 

Though  I  wandered  for  many  miles,  running  into  the 
hundreds,  the  number  of  Maori  villages  and  people  I 
came  across  were  few  and  far  between.  Yet  records 
show  that  once  these  regions  were  alive  with  more  than 
a  hundred  thousand  fighting  natives.  At  Rotorua,  the 
hot-springs  district  in  the  North  Island,  the  pah  was  in 
exceptionally  good  condition,  but  it  was  so  largely  be- 
cause the  New  Zealand  Government  has  made  of  the 
place  one  of  its  most  attractive  tourist  resorts  and  the 
natives  are  permitted  to  exact  a  tax  from  every  visitor 
who  wishes  to  see  the  geysers.  Elsewhere  the  villages 
are  dull,  dreary,  and  neglected:  the  farther  away  from 
civilization,  the  worse  they  get.  The  consequence  is  not 
surprising. 

According  to  the  census  of  1896,  there  were  39,854  peo- 
ple of  the  Maori  race :  21,673  males,  18,181  females,  of 
which  3,503  were  half-castes  who  lived  as  Maories,  and 
229  Maori  women  married  to  Europeans.  The  Maori 
population  fell  from  41,993  in  1891  to  39,854  in  1896,  a 
decrease  in  five  years  of  2,139.  But  in  1901  it  had  risen 
to  43,143,  going  steadily  up  to  49,844  in  1911,  and  drop- 
ping to  49,776  in  1916  on  account  of  the  European  war. 

There  was  considerable  discussion  in  the  New  Zealand 
Parliament  on  the  question  of  whether  the  Maories  should 
be  included  in  the  Draft  Act,  most  white  men  declaring 
that  a  race  which  was  dying,  despite  this  seeming  in- 
crease, should  not  be  taxed  for  its  sturdiest  young  men 
in  a  war  that  was  in  truth  none  of  its  concern.  But  the 
Maories — that  is,  their  representatives — objected,  say- 
ing they  did  not  wish  to  be  discriminated  against. 
Among  the  young  men,  however,  I  found  not  a  few  who 


124  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

were  inclined  to  reason  otherwise.  So  it  was  that  while 
I  was  talking  to  the  young  fellows  who  were  washing 
their  horse  in  the  Waikato,  one  of  them  said  to  me : 

''Yes.  Years  ago  the  white  men  came  to  us  with 
guns  and  cannon  and  powder  and  compelled  us  to  give 
up  our  warfare,  which  kept  us  in  good  condition  indi- 
vidually and  as  a  race.  We  put  aside  our  weapons. 
Now  they  come  to  us  and  tell  us  we  must  go  to  Europe 
and  fight  for  them. ' '  And  he  became  silent  and  thought- 
ful. 

As  I  came  back  into  Huntly  from  my  visit  to  the  pah  I 
passed  the  little  court-house,  before  which  was  a  crowd 
of  Maories.  Some  of  the  wahmes  sat  with  shawls  over 
their  heads  smoking  their  pipes  as  though  they  were  in 
trousers,  not  skirts.  I  chatted  wih  the  British  Bobby 
who  stood  at  the  door,  asking  him  what  was  bestirring 
Maoriland  so  much. 

* '  Oh,  that  bally  old  king  of  theirs  has  been  subpoenaed 
to  answer  for  his  brother.  The  blighter  has  been  keep- 
ing him  out  of  sight  so  that  he  won't  be  taken  in  the 
draft." 

1 '  But, ' '  I  protested — democrat  though  I  was,  my  heart 
went  out  to  the  old  "monarch" — "can't  the  king  get  his 
brother,  the  archduke  and  possible  successor  to  the 
throne,  out  of  performing  a  task  that  might  hazard  the 
foundation  of  the  imperial  line?" 

"King  be  damned!  Wait  till  we  get  the  blighter  in 
here,"  said  the  servant  of  the  law,  pressing  his  heels 
into  the  soft,  oozy  tar  pavement  as  he  turned  scornfully 
from  me. 


A  few  days  later  I  was  cutting  my  way  through  a  lux- 
uriant mountain  forest  above  Te  Horoto  in  the  North 
Island,  listening  to  the  melodious  tui,  the  bell-bird,  and 
to  the  song  of  the  parson-bird  in  his  black  frock  of 
feathers  with  a  small  tuft  of  white  under  his  beak,  like 


THE  APHELION  OF  BEITAIN  125 

the  reversed  collar  of  a  cleric.  No  sound  of  bird  in  any 
of  the  many  countries  I  have  been  to  has  ever  filled  me 
with  greater  rapture  than  did  this.  There  are  thou- 
sands of  skylarks  in  New  Zealand,  brought  from  Eng- 
land, but  had  Shelley  heard  the  tui  he  might  have  written 
an  ode  more  beautiful  even  than  that  to  the  "  blithe 
spirit"  he  has  immortalized.  Yet,  like  the  human  na- 
tives, these  feathery  folk  have  vastly  decreased  since  the 
coming  of  the  white  man.  No  wonder  Pehi  Hetan  Turoa, 
great  chief  of  a  far  country  on  the  other  side  of  the 
island,  in  complaining  of  the  decay  of  his  race,  said: 
' '  Formerly,  when  we  went  into  a  forest,  and  stood  under 
a  tree,  we  could  not  hear  ourselves  speak  for  the  noise 
of  the  birds — every  tree  was  full  of  them.  .  .  .  Now, 
many  of  the  birds  have  died  out." 

Enraptured  with  the  loveliness  of  the  native  bush  and 
the  clear,  sweet  air,  I  pressed  up  the  mountain  side  with 
great  strides.  Presently  I  passed  a  simple  Maori  habi- 
tation. It  was  about  noon.  Seeing  smoke  rise  out  of  an 
opening  in  the  roof,  indicating  that  the  owners  were  at 
home,  I  entered  the  yard.  My  eyes,  full  of  the  bright, 
clear  sunlight,  could  not  discern  any  living  thing  as  I 
poked  my  head  in  at  the  door,  but  I  could  hear  a  voice 
bidding  me  enter.  I  stepped  into  a  sort  of  antechamber, 
a  large  section  of  the  hut  with  a  floor  of  beaten  earth  and 
a  single  pillar  slightly  off  the  center  supporting  the  roof. 
Gradually,  as  my  eyes  became  accustomed  to  the  subdued 
light,  I  saw  an  aged  couple  within  a  small  alcove  on  the 
farther  side.  An  open  fire  crackled  in  the  center  of  its 
floor.  The  old  woman  sitting  on  her  bed-space,  was 
bending  over  the  flame,  fanning  it  to  life.  The  old  man, 
who  was  very  tall,  lay  on  a  mat-bed  to  the  right,  his 
legs  stretched  in  my  direction.  The  two  beds,  the  fire, 
and  the  old  couple  took  up  the  entire  space  of  the  alcove, 
— a  sort  of  kitchenette-bedroom  affair  like  our  modern 
" studio"  apartments. 

"Where  are  you  from?"  asked  the  old  man,  after  I 


126  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

had  seated  myself  before  the  fire.  "  America, "  I  said. 
My  reply  evoked  no  great  surprise  in  him. 

"The  village  is  quiet,"  I  said.  " Where  are  the  peo- 
ple?" 

"Oh,  down  in  the  valley,  working  in  the  fields." 

"Don't  you  go  out,  tool"  I  asked. 

"Oh,  I  'm  too  old  now.  My  legs  ache  with  rheuma- 
tism. I  go  no  more.  Let  the  young  fellows  work.  Stay 
and  have  tea  with  us,"  he  urged. 

I  looked  at  their  stock.  They  did  not  seem  to  have 
any  too  much  themselves,  and  the  old  woman  seemed  a 
little  worried.  I  knew  that  the  heart  of  the  hostess  was 
the  same  the  world  over,  so  I  assured  them  I  had  had 
my  meal,  and  only  wished  to  rest  a  while  away  from  the 
sun.  The  old  woman  showed  relief. 

We  chatted  as  cordially  as  it  is  possible  where  tongues 
cannot  fully  make  themselves  understood.  I  learned 
that  the  man  was  an  old  chief.  He  could  not  fall  in  with 
the  times,  acknowledged  his  inability  to  direct  the  af- 
fairs of  this  strange  world,  and  only  asked  for  rest  and 
quiet,  and  the  respect  due  one  of  his  position.  He  did 
not  expect  to  live  long,  nor  did  he  much  care.  "These 
are  not  days  for  me,"  he  said  with  a  smile.  He  did  not 
speak  of  the  former  glories  of  his  race.  Doubtless  he 
could  not  exactly  make  up  his  mind  whether  to  look  be- 
fore or  after :  if  there  were  great  chiefs  before,  are  there 
not  big  M.P's  now! 

The  fire  was  burning  low,  and  I  knew  that  the  old 
woman  would  have  to  go  for  more  wood  unless  she  hur- 
ried with  the  preparation  of  her  meal,  and  that  as  long  as 
I  was  there  I  was  delaying  her.  So  I  rose  to  go.  The 
old  man  excused  himself  for  not  rising  by  pointing  to 
his  lame  legs.  She  saw  me  to  the  gate,  and  as  I  struck 
down  the  road  she  waved  her  hand  after  me  in  farewell, 
and  remained  behind  the  screen  of  trees  round  which  I 
veered. 

Down  in  the  valley  lying  almost  precipitately  below 


THE  APHELION  OF  BRITAIN  127 

me  were  a  number  of  natives  working  in  their  fields ;  but 
my  road  led  me  on  to  the  cities,  and  it  is  there  that  the 
future  of  this  race  hangs  in  the  balance. 

Some  months  later,  while  I  was  living  in  Dunedin  in 
the  far  south  of  the  South  Island,  the  newspapers  came 
out  in  a  way  almost  American,  so  exciting  was  the  bit  of 
news.  The  editorial  world  forgot  all  decorum  and  dig- 
nity and  pulled  out  the  largest  type  it  had  on  hand.  It 
was  announced  that  the  Maori  priest,  Eua,  was  caught. 
Several  persons  were  wounded  and  one,  I  believe,  was 
killed  in  the  process.  The  priest  was  treated  with  no 
respect  and  little  consideration  and  thrown  into  prison, — 
all  because  he  believed  in  having  several  wives  as  his 
men-folk  always  had,  if  they  were  chiefs  and  priests, 
and  was  trying  to  put  a  little  life  into  his  race,  trying 
to  stir  it  up  to  casting  out  these  "foreign  devils."  He 
had  built  himself  a  temple  that  was  an  interesting  work 
of  art,  but  it  holds  worshipers  no  more,  even  though  the 
priest  has  since  been  released.  His  efforts  to  rouse  his 
people  failed.  Such  efforts  are  only  the  reflex  action 
of  a  dying  race. 


CHAPTER  VII 

ASTRIDE  THE  EQUATOB 

The  Second  Side  of  The  Triangle 

Dark  is  the  way  of  the  Eternal  as  mirrored  in  this  world  of  Time: 
God's  way  is  in  the  sea,  and  His  path  in  the  great  deep. — Carlyle. 


MORE  than  a  year  went  by  before  I  began  drawing 
in  the  radial  thread  that  held  me  suspended  from 
the  North  Star  under  the  Southern  Cross, — a  year 
replete  with  lone  wanderings  and  searching  reflections. 
During  all  those  months  not  a  single  day  had  passed 
without  my  surveying  in  my  mind's  eye  the  reaches  of 
the  Pacific  that  lay  between  me  and  the  Orient.  Round- 
about New  Zealand  I  had  become  familiar  with  the  Tas- 
man  Sea  looking  toward  Australia,  on  the  shores  of  which 
I  had  spent  some  of  the  most  mysterious  nights  of  my 
life ;  on  Hawkes  Bay  looking  out  toward  South  America ; 
and  across  the  surging  waters  of  Otago  Harbor  at  Dune- 
din,  looking  in  the  direction  of  the  frozen  reaches  of 
Antarctica, 

Once  staid  Dunedin  was  thrilled  by  a  wireless  S.O.S. 
from  the  direction  of  the  South  Pole.  The  Aurora, 
Shackleton's  ship  which  had  gone  down  to  the  polar 
regions,  was  calling  for  help.  She  had  snapped  the 
cables  which  tied  her  to  land  when  the  ice-packs  gave  way 
and  had  drifted  out  to  sea.  Fortunately,  most  of  the 
officers  and  crew  were  at  the  moment  on  board,  but  six- 
teen men  were  left  marooned.  To  add  to  the  prospect  of 
tragedy,  the  ice  smashed  the  rudder,  and  a  jury-rudder, 
worked  by  hand  from  the  stern  deck,  had  to  be  impro- 
vised. With  these  handicaps  the  vessel  made  her  way 

128 


THE   S.  S.  A  URORA 
Just  arrived ,at  Port  Chalmers,  N.  Z.,  from  the  South  Pole 


MOUNT  COOK  OF  THE   NEW  ZEALAND   ALPS   IN   SUMMER 


CIRCULAR  QUAY,   SYDNEY,   AUSTRALIA 
A  whirl  of  pleasure-seeking  and  business 


MONUMENT  TO  CAPTAIN   COOK 
At  Botany  Bay,  Australia 


ASTRIDE  THE  EQUATOR  129 

slowly  till  within  five  hundred  miles  of  New  Zealand,  the 
reach  of  her  wireless.  Here  she  was  rescued  by  a  Dune- 
din  tug  and  brought  to  Port  Chalmers. 

I  made  friends  with  the  mate  and  the  chief  engineer 
and  gained  access  to  their  superb  collection  of  Emperor 
Penguin  skins  and  an  unusual  number  of  photographs. 
Months  afterward  they  wanted  four  men  to  complete  the 
crew  necessary  for  another  journey  south  and  I  was 
tempted  to  join  them,  but  tallow  and  bladder  and  a 
repressed  pen  were  the  negatives,  while  China  and  Japan 
were  the  positives.  So  I  sailed  away  with  the  rising  sun 
in  the  direction  of  the  great  West  that  is  the  Far  East. 
Crisp  and  clear  in  the  bright  morning  air  shone  the  tow- 
ering peaks  of  the  New  Zealand  Alps  as  I  sailed  toward 
Australia  and  to  Botany  Bay, — not,  however,  without 
being  nearly  wrecked  in  the  fog  which  had  gathered  in 
Foveaux  Strait,  which  separates  Steward  Island  from 
the  South  Island  in  New  Zealand.  Bluff,  the  last  little 
town  in  New  Zealand,  is  said  to  have  the  most  southerly 
hotel  in  the  world.  I  saw  it. 


Four  days  from  Bluff  to  Melbourne  on  a  sea  that 
seemed  on  the  verge  of  congealing  into  ice.  It  was  not 
cold,  yet  autumn-like.  And  the  passengers  seemed  the 
fallen  leaves.  The  stewards  maintained  the  reputation 
for  impudence  and  unmannerliness  of  the  Union  Steam- 
ship Company  crews,  but  I  had  grown  used  to  that,  and 
thanked  my  stars  that  this  was  the  last  coupon  in  the 
ticket  I  had  purchased  in  Honolulu  more  than  a  year  be- 
fore. Of  human  incidents  there  was  therefore  none  to 
relate. 

But  chill  and  melancholy  as  that  Southern  sea  was, 
there  hovered  over  it  a  creature  whose  call  upon  one's 
interest  was  more  than  compensating.  Swooping  with 
giant  wings  in  careless  ease,  the  albatross  followed  us 


130  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

day  in  and  day  out.  Always  on  the  wing,  awake  or 
asleep,  in  sunshine  or  in  storm,  the  air  his  home  as  the 
water  is  to  fish,  and  earth  to  mammal.  Even  the  ship 
was  no  lure  for  him  by  way  of  support.  He  followed  it, 
accepted  whatever  was  thrown  from  it,  but  as  for  depen- 
dence upon  it, — no  such  weakness,  you  may  be  sure.  His 
sixteen  feet  of  wing-spread  moved  like  a  ship  upon  the 
waves,  like  a  combination  of  a  ship  and  sails.  Swift, 
huge,  glorious,  unconsciously  majestic,  he  is  indeed  a 
bird  of  good  omen.  How  he  floats  with  never  a  sign  of 
effort!  How  he  glides  atop  the  waves,  skims  them,  yet 
is  never  reached  by  their  flame-like  leapings;  simulates 
their  motion  without  the  exhaustion  into  which  they  sink 
incessantly. 

The  albatross  had  left  us,  and  now  the  swarming 
is  his  artistry,  so  refined  his  "table  manners."  He  does 
not  gorge  himself  as  does  the  sea-gull,  nor  is  he  ever 
heard  to  screech  that  selfish,  hungry,  insatiable  screech. 
Silent,  sadly  voiceless,  rhythmic  and  symbolic  without 
being  restrained  by  pride  of  art,  he  exemplifies  right 
living.  He  is  our  link  between  shores,  the  one  dream  of 
reality  on  an  ocean  of  opiate  loveliness  wherein  there  is 
little  of  earth's  confusion  and  pain.  For  the  traveler 
he  keeps  the  balance  between  the  deadly  stability  of  land 
life  and  the  dream-like  mystery  of  the  sea.  But  for  him 
it  were  impossible  to  come  so  easily  out  of  an  experience 
of  a  long  voyage.  Away  down  there  he  is  the  only 
reminder  of  reality.  Which  explains  the  reverence 
sailors  have  for  him  and  their  superstitious  dread  of 
killing  him.  It  is  like  the  dread  of  the  physician  that 
his  knife  may  too  sharply  stir  the  numbed  senses  of  his 
patient  under  anaesthesia. 

Land  may  be  said  to  begin  where  the  albatross  is  seen 
to  depart.  He  knows,  and  off  he  swoops,  ship  or  no  ship 
to  follow  and  to  guide ;  back  over  the  thousand  miles  of 
watery  waste,  to  measure  the  infinite  with  his  sixteen-foot 
wings,  glide  by  glide,  with  the  speed  of  a  twin-screw  tur- 


ASTRIDE  THE  EQUATOR  131 

bine.  Only  when  the  female  enters  the  breeding  season 
does  she  seek  out  a  lost  island  to  rear  her  young.  Inde- 
pendent of  the  sea,  these  birds  are  utterly  confined  to  it, 
a  mystery  floating  within  mystery. 

The  albatross  have  left  us,  and  now  the  swarming 
gulls  abound.  Why  they  are  dignified  with  the  Christian 
name  "Sea"  when  they  are  such  homely  land-lubbers, 
is  a  question  that  I  cannot  answer.  Pilots,  rather,  they 
come  to  see  us  into  the  harbor,  or,  with  their  harsh 
screeching,  to  frighten  us  away. 

But  something  within  me  would  not  know  Australia, 
nor  any  lands,  just  then.  Perhaps  it  was  that  my  un- 
conscious self  was  still  with  the  albatross ;  for  strange  as 
it  may  seem  I  could  not  sense  any  forward  direction  at 
all  that  day,  but  only  one  that  pointed  backward, — toward 
home.  Try  as  I  would  to  realize  myself  on  my  way  to 
Australia,  still  my  mind  persisted  in  pointing  toward 
America.  Not  until  we  got  the  first  sight  of  land  ahead 
was  my  soul  set  right.  Then  it  was  the  Sister  Islands, 
Wilson's  Promontory,  the  Bass  Straits,  with  Tasmania 
barely  in  sight,  Cape  Liptrap,  and  finally  Port  Phillip. 
And  Australia  was  on  all  fours,  veiled  in  blue, — a  thin 
rind  of  earth  steeped  in  summer  splendor. 

Flag  signals  were  exchanged  with  the  lonely  pilot-ship 
that  hung  about  the  entrance.  All  being  well,  we  passed 
on,  crossing  that  point  at  the  entrance  where  five  strong 
water-currents  meet  and  vanquish  one  another,  turning 
into  a  smooth,  glassy  coat  of  treachery.  The  Wimmera 
hugged  the  right  shore  of  the  largest  harbor  I  have  ever 
seen.  In  places  the  other  shore  could  not  be  seen  with 
the  naked  eye.  But  it  is  very  shallow  and  innumerable 
lights  float  in  double  file  to  guard  all  ships  from  being 
stranded. 

Just  as  we  entered,  the  sun  set.  A  stream  of  color 
unconstrained  obliterated  all  detail  as  it  poured  over 
the  point  of  the  harbor,  filling  the  spacious  port.  Clots 
of  amber  and  orange  gathered  and  were  dissipated,  sof- 


132  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

tened,  diffused,  till  slowly  all  died  down  and  were  gone. 
Darkness  and  the  blinking  lights  of  the  buoys  remained. 
Two  big  ships,  brilliantly  lighted,  flinging  their  manes 
of  smoke  to  the  winds,  passed,  one  on  its  way  to  Sydney, 
the  other  to  Tasmania  and  Adelaide  in  the  south.  Far 
in  the  distance  ahead  we  could  see  the  string  of  shore 
lights  at  Port  Williamson.  It  took  us  three  hours  to 
overtake  them,  and  we  arrived  too  late  to  receive  prat- 
ique. For  half  an  hour  the  captain  and  the  customs 
carried  on  a  conversation  with  blinking  lights.  The 
winches  suddenly  began  their  rasping  sound,  and  the 
anchor  dropped  to  the  bottom.  We  did  not  debark  that 
night. 

3 

I  spent  nearly  six  months  in  Melbourne  and  Sydney, 
those  two  eastern  eyes  of  that  wild  old  continent,  and 
for  the  first  time  in  a  twelvemonth  the  sense  of  security 
from  the  sea  obtained.  For  a  fortnight  I  occupied  a 
little  shack  on  Manly  Beach,  near  Sydney,  but  oh,  how 
different  it  was  there  from  the  sand-dunes  on  the  shores 
at  Dunedin,  in  New  Zealand!  In  the  Dominion  one  had 
to  hide  within  the  interior  to  get  away  from  the  sea: 
on  the  beach  one  felt  about  to  slip  into  Neptune's  maw. 
But  at  Manly,  Bondi,  Botany  Bay,  the  sea  might  ham- 
mer away  for  another  eternity  without  putting  a  land- 
lubber off  his  ease. 

But  we  shall  return  to  Australia  in  another  section. 
The  sea  is  still  much  in  the  blood,  there  is  still  a  vast 
length  that  lies  close  to  Asia  and  marks  off  another  line 
of  our  imaginary  triangle.  Here  are  no  landless  reaches, 
but  all  the  way  to  Japan  one  passes  strip  after  strip,  as 
though  some  giant  earthquake  had  shattered  part  of  the 
main. 

Months  afterward  I  took  passage  once  more,  this  time 
on  the  Eastern,  bound  for  Japan. 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  side  of  the  world  I  was 


ASTRIDE  THE  EQUATOR  133 

on  and  the  direction  of  my  journey  from  the  moment  I 
stepped  upon  the  pier  to  which  the  Eastern  was  made 
fast.  Hundreds  of  Chinese,  with  thousands  of  boxes  and 
bundles,  scurried  to  and  fro  in  an  ant-like  attention  to 
little  details.  Then  as  the  steamer  was  about  to  depart, 
mobilization  for  the  counting  of  noses  took  place,  and 
veritable  regiments  of  emaciated  yellow  men  lined  the 
decks.  Here  and  there  a  fat,  successful-looking  Chinese 
moved  round  the  crowd,  an  altogether  different-looking 
species,  more  as  one  who  lives  on  them  than  as  one  who 
lives  with  them.  On  the  dock  stood  several  groups  wait- 
ing to  wave  farewell  to  their  Oriental  kin.  One  of  these 
groups  was  composed  of  a  stout  white  woman  with  two 
very  pretty  Eurasian  daughters, — as  handsome  a  pair  of 
girls  as  I  saw  in  Australia.  Their  father  was  a  well-to-do 
Chinese  merchant  taking  one  of  his  regular  trips  to  China. 
In  Australian  fashion  they  were  ready  for  a  mild  flirta- 
tion, spoke  Australian  English  with  Australian  slang, 
and,  aside  from  their  pater,  they  were  native  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes.  And  in  Australia  they  remained. 

Of  those  who  departed,  the  major  number  likewise 
remained  native — though  to  China — despite  years  and 
years  of  residence  in  Australia.  It  is  a  one-sided  argu- 
ment to  maintain  that  because  of  that  the  Chinese  are 
unassimilable.  There  is  no  ground  for  such  a  deduction, 
because  they  arrived  mainly  after  maturity,  and  the 
Chinese  could  challenge  any  white  man  to  become  one  of 
them  after  he  has  fully  acquired  his  habits  and  preju- 
dices. But  we  had  not  been  many  minutes  at  sea  before 
it  was  our  misfortune  to  find  that  we  had  among  us  a 
Chinese  boy  who  was  born  and  brought  up  in  New  Zea- 
land and  was  just  then  going  to  China  for  the  first  time. 
Here  I  had  ample  opportunity  of  observing  the  assimila- 
bility  of  the  Oriental.  And  here  I  bow  before  the 
inevitable. 

He  had  assimilated  every  obnoxious  characteristic  of 
our  civilization,  the  passion  for  slang,  the  impertinence, 


134  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

the  false  pride,  the  bluff  which  is  the  basis  of  Western 
crowd  psychology.  He  was  not  a  Chinese, — that  he 
denied  most  vehemently, — he  was  a  New  Zealander,  and 
by  virtue  of  his  birth  he  assumed  the  right  to  impose 
his  boyish  larrikinism  upon  all  the  ship's  unfortunate 
passengers.  He  banged  the  piano  morning,  noon,  and 
night;  he  affected  long,  straight  black  hair,  which  was 
constantly  getting  in  his  way  and  being  brushed  care- 
fully back  over  his  head ;  and  he  took  great  pains  to  make 
himself  as  generally  obnoxious  as  possible.  He  was  not 
that  serious,  struggling  Chinese  student  who  comes  to 
America  afire  with  hope  for  the  regeneration  of  his  race. 
He  was  a  New  Zealander,  knew  no  other  affiliations,  had 
no  aspirations,  and  lorded  it  over  " those  Chinese"  who 
occupied  every  bit  of  available  space  on  the  steamer. 

In  his  way  he  was  also  a  Don  Juan,  for  he  hovered  over 
the  young  half -Australian  wife  of  a  middle-aged  Chinese 
merchant  who  was  taking  her  back  to  China  for  her  con- 
finement. She  was  morose,  sullen,  as  unhappy  a  spirit 
as  I  have  seen  in  an  Oriental  body.  Obviously,  China 
held  few  fine  prospects  for  her.  She  was  seldom  seen  in 
her  husband's  company,  for  he  was  generally  below  play- 
ing fan-tan  or  gambling  in  some  other  fashion.  And  the 
Australian  half  of  her  was  longing  for  home.  It  seemed 
to  devolve  upon  our  young  Don  Juan  to  court  this  un- 
happy creature,  and  court  her  he  did.  But  she  had  no 
resilience,  no  flash,  her  Chinese  half-self  offering  him  as 
little  reward  for  his  pains  as  a  cow  would  offer  the  sun 
for  a  brilliant  setting. 

I  expected  any  hour  of  the  day  to  see  that  woman  throw 
herself  into  the  sea,  or  that  husband  stick  a  knife  into 
the  bold,  bad  boy,  but  nothing  happened;  the  husband 
and  the  wife  were  seemingly  oblivious  of  the  love-making, 
and  all  went  well. 

Besides  the  Chinese  crew  and  passengers  there  were 
perhaps  a  dozen  white  people,  including  the  officers.  An 
old  English  army  captain  whose  passport  confirmed  his 


ASTRIDE  THE  EQUATOR  135 

declaration  that  he  was  seventy-three  years  old,  was  tak- 
ing a  little  run  up  to  Japan.  His  only  reason  was  that 
Japan  was  an  ally,  hence  he  wanted  to  see  it.  Such  is 
the  nature  of  British  provincialism.  Otherwise,  there 
were  but  two  or  three  young  Australians  bound  for 
Townsville,  and  the  stewardess.  Somewhere  along  the 
coast  we  picked  up  a  Russian  peasant,  who  with  his  wife 
had  been  induced  to  emigrate  to  Australia,  but  who  was 
now  going  home  to  enlist.  As  though  there  weren't  al- 
ready enough  men  in  Russia  armed  with  sticks  and  stones ! 
At  still  another  port  we  commandeered  a  veritable  regi- 
ment of  Australian  children,  colloquially  called  larrikins. 
These  were  bound  for  the  Philippines,  where  their  father 
had  preceded  them  some  months  before.  Their  exploits 
deserve  an  exclusive  paragraph. 

Suddenly,  out  of  a  clear  sky,  there  would  be  a  shriek 
like  the  howl  of  a  dingo  on  the  Australian  plains.  There 
would  be  a  rush  to  the  defenses  by  an  excited  female, — 
the  mother.  There  would  follow  such  a  slapping  as 
would  delight  the  English  Corporal  Correction  League, 
except  that  it  was  n  't  done  cold-bloodedly  enough.  And 
thereafter  for  half  an  hour  there  was  bedlam  all  around. 
After  exhaustion,  a  new  series  of  pranks  set  in.  This 
time  they  were  playing  a  ''back-blocks"  game  which 
entailed  a  hanging.  One  of  them  needs  must  be  hanged, 
and  was  rescued  just  in  time  by  an  ever-swooping  mothsr. 
After  hours  of  hunger-stimulating  escapades  on  deck, 
the  dinner-bell  sent  them  scurrying  down  into  the  saloon. 
Before  any  of  us  had  time  to  be  seated  all  the  fruit  on 
the  table  was  divided  according  to  the  best  principles  of 
individual  enterprise.  Beginning  with  the  first  thing  on 
the  menu,  they  went  down  the  sheet,  leaving  nothing 
untasted ;  nor  did  it  matter  much  whether  it  was  break- 
fast or  dinner, — steak  enough  for  a  meal  in  itself  com- 
prised the  entree.  And  the  littlest  kept  pace  with  the 
biggest.  Nor  did  afternoon  and  morning  tea  escape 


136  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

them.  Fully  stoked  up,  they  were  ready  for  another 
heating  and  another  hanging  on  deck. 

In  contrast  were  the  little  Chinese  children, — quiet, 
shy,  never  spanked;  and  though  they  put  away  enough 
within  their  Oriental  hread-baskets,  one  never  saw  that 
same  wild  struggle  for  existence  which  told  the  tale  of 
life  on  an  Australian  station  better  than  anything  I 
wot  of. 

We  had  now  reached  Brisbane,  519  miles  from  Sydney, 
a  distance  which  took  the  Eastern  from  noon  of  the 
8th  to  sunrise  of  the  10th  of  October  to  negotiate.  And 
from  the  outer  channel  to  the  docks  on  the  Brisbane  River 
we  steamed  till  half -past  one  in  the  afternoon.  Here  we 
were  "beached"  in  the  mud  when  the  tide  went  out  and 
had  to  wait  twenty-four  hours  before  floating  out  again. 
In  the  meantime  we  picked  up  two  more  gems, — mature 
larrikin  this  time.  One  of  them  was  so  drunk  he  could  n't 
see  straight,  the  other  was  sober  enough  to  bring  him 
on  board.  Unfortunately  for  me,  they  were  placed  in 
my  cabin,  and  from  then  on,  after  the  youngsters  had 
turned  the  day  into  chaos,  these  two  would  come  in  to 
sleep,  and  the  cursing,  the  spitting,  the  reference  to 
women  with  which  they  consoled  their  souls,  would  have 
shocked  the  most  hardened  beach-comber,  I  am  sure. 

To  avoid  annoyances  I  explored  every  nook  and  corner 
of  the  vessel.  At  last  I  discovered  a  sanctuary  on  the 
roof  of  the  unused  hospital.  It  could  not  be  called  a 
model  of  order  and  comfort,  for  various  air-tanks  and 
stores  of  sprouting  potatoes  belittered  it.  But  it  was 
like  the  holy  of  holies  to  me,  for  there  I  might  just  as 
well  have  been  on  a  lone  craft  of  my  own.  No  sound 
reached  me  from  any  living  thing, — except  an  occasional 
extra-loud  shriek  from  the  youngsters.  Above  and  about 
me  there  was  nothing  to  obstruct  my  view,  and  within, 
absolute  peace. 

On  the  following  day  we  were  on  the  Great  Barrier 
Reef,  grayish  green  in  color,  languid  in  temperament, 


ASTRIDE  THE  EQUATOR  137 

shallow  and  therefore  dangerous  in  make-up.  Numerous 
islands,  neutral  in  color  and  sterile  of  vegetation,  seemed 
to  stare  at  us  and  at  one  another  in  mute  indifference. 
For  the  first  time  the  storied  reality  of  being  stranded  on 
a  desolate  island  came  home  to  me.  As  I  sat  watching 
this  filmy  show,  I  became  conscious  of  a  familiar  some- 
thing in  the  world  about  me,  be  it  warmth  or  color,  a 
something  which  immediately  brought  the  picture  of 
Santa  Anna  Valley  in  California  back  to  mind.  Some- 
times we  come  across  a  face  we  feel  certain  we  have  seen 
before :  that  was  the  case  with  the  atmosphere  along  the 
Great  Barrier  Reef.  The  setting  is  that  of  the  island 
home  of  Paul  and  Virginia.  Near  and  far,  lowly  and 
majestic,  in  generous  succession  on  each  side,  were 
islands  and  continent, — an  avenue  wide,  spacious,  and 
clear.  Occasional  peaks  along  the  mainland  recalled  old- 
fashioned  etchings, —  dense  clouds,  heaven-reaching 
streaks  and  shafts  of  twice-blended  astral  blue;  rain- 
driven  mountain  fiords. 

Early  one  day,  an  hour  before  dawn,  the  Eastern 
moored  before  Magneta  Isle  with  her  stern  toward 
Townsville,  as  though  ready  for  instant  flight,  if  neces- 
sary. With  an  early-morning  shower  of  filthy  words, 
one  of  my  cabin-mates  pulled  himself  together  and 
dressed.  Shortly  afterward  he  slipped  over  the  side 
of  the  ship  into  a  tossing  and  pitching  launch  and  was 
rushed  to  Townsville.  His  rousing  me  at  that  hour  was 
the  only  thing  I  had  reason  to  be  grateful  to  him  for  in 
our  short  acquaintance. 

For  the  world  was  exquisitely  beautiful  in  its  delicate 
gown  of  night.  Dawn  was  but  waking.  Four-o'clock 
stupor  superintended  the  easy  activities.  A  few  lights 
in  a  corner,  a  bolder  and  more  purposeful  flash  from  a 
search-light,  and  all  set  in  twilight.  A  ring  of  islands — 
the  Palm  Isles — stones  set  in  a  placid  bay.  That  was 
all  I  saw  of  Townsville. 

And  perhaps  it  is  just  as  well.     It  may  have  been 


138  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

" ordained "  that  my  ignorance  obtain,  be  the  city's  vir- 
tues and  its  right  to  fame  what  they  may.  What  if  I  had 
gathered  closer  impressions,  added  meaningless  statis- 
tics or  announced  the  prevalence  of  diphtheria  through- 
out Queensland,  or  discovered  the  leading  citizen  of 
Townsville  to  an  apathetic  world?  But  it  may  be  of 
interest  to  hear  that  Townsville  claims  one  distinction. 
It  is  the  Episcopal  See  of  Australia  and  the  seat  of  the 
Anglican  Bishop  and  possesses  a  cathedral. 


On  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day  a  heavy  wind 
or  squall  came  up.  This  time  the  ship  did  not  defy  it. 
No  foolhardy  resistance  here.  The  reefs  are  too  near 
and  they  stretch  for  thirty  miles  seaward.  Again  we 
anchored.  The  horizon  contracted  like  a  noose  of  mist ; 
it  stifled  one.  The  ship  seemed  to  crouch  beneath  the 
winds.  An  hour,  and  the  anchor  was  heard  being  lifted 
and  the  propellers  were  slowly  revived  to  action.  A 
little  later  we  anchored  again.  A  light  was  hoisted  to 
the  stern  mast  and  twilight  lowered  on  a  calm  gray  sea. 
Distant  little  flat  islands  loomed  through  the  mist.  Two 
sailing-vessels  at  anchor,  moored  in  companionship, 
rested  within  an  inlet.  A  gentle  swish,  a  murmur  of 
human  voices,  and  our  little  world  was  swaying  gently 
upon  a  curious  world.  And  there  we  remained  all  night. 

As  the  sun  gave  notice  of  day,  we  moved  off,  and  all 
day  the  sea  was  so  still  that  but  for  the  vibration  of  the 
screws  it  would  have  been  hard  to  realize  that  the  ship 
was  in  motion.  Here  we  came  to  where  the  jagged  coast- 
line has  run  down.  Tiny  islets,  flat  and  low,  most  of 
them  but  a  landing-place  for  a  few  tropical  trees.  Sum- 
mer calm,  with  barely  a  ripple  of  the  sea.  That  night 
we  anchored  again,  having  come,  it  was  said,  to  the  most 
dangerous  pass  on  the  reefs. 

Ten  days  after  having  left  Sydney  we  arrived  at  the 


ASTRIDE  THE  EQUATOR  139 

last  port  in  Australia,  Thursday  Island.  A  cloudy 
morning  had  turned  clear  for  us,  but  on  ahead  to  the 
northwest  hung  heavy  mists.  Because  of  these,  I  was 
later  told  by  two  soldiers  on  guard  atop  the  mountain 
fortification,  they  could  not  see  us  coming.  They  saw 
our  smoke,  but  the  steamer  was  hidden  from  them  by 
mist.  Then  suddenly  we  shot  into  view.  All  the  while 
we  had  been  in  the  clearest  sunshine,  the  sea  glassy  and 
the  flying-fish  darting  about.  It  was  no  place  for  speed. 
We  moved  just  fast  enough  to  leave  the  scene  undis- 
turbed. And  thus  we  stole  into  Torres  Straits. 

Of  all  the  numerous  harbors  I  have  entered  in  the 
Pacific,  none,  with  the  exception  of  the  Inland  Sea  in 
Japan,  is  more  picturesque  than  that  at  Thursday  Island. 
Shelter,  space,  and  depth,  and  stillness!  One's  eyes 
sweep  round  this  pearly  promise!  with  greed  for  its 
beauty.  Seventy-five  sail-boats,  their  sailless  masts 
swaying  with  the  swells,  are  anchored  on  the  reefs.  It 
is  Sunday  and  they  are  at  rest,  but  what  enchantment  lies 
hid  in  those  folded  sails !  I  wish  for  the  power  to  utter 
some  word  which  could  put  them  to  flight;  but  that 
remains  for  Monday,  when  "the  word"  is  spoken. 

And  on  Monday,  too,  immediately  upon  leaving  port 
at  ten  o  'clock,  the  ship 's  time  was  returned  to  standard 
time,  leaving  Australia  and  its  "bunkum"  daylight- 
saving  time  behind.  Thence  we  lived  again  by  ' '  dinkum ' ' 
time.  The  ship  about-faced  and  left  the  channel  the 
same  way  it  had  entered,  and  shortly  afterward  we  struck 
across  the  Arafua  Sea. 


From  that  day  until  I  reached  Japan  it  was  all  I  could 
do  to  keep  track  of  the  seas  we  passed  through, — Arafua, 
Banda,  Molucca,  Celebes,  Sulu,  China,  and  the  Inland 
Sea. 

As  we  neared  the  equator  again,  there  was  nothing  to 
disturb  the  peaceful  splendor  of  life,  except  the  little 


140  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

hoodlums  on  board.  About  sixty  miles  south  of  it  a 
tiny  creature,  like  a  turtle,  sailed  along  the  still  surface ; 
the  flying-fish  blistered  the  water,  the  scars  broadened 
and  healed  again  just  as  the  sportive  amphibians  pierced 
it  and  disappeared.  What  a  contrast  to  the  albatross! 

Then  the  miracle  occurred.  From  the  west,  hidden 
from  me  by  the  ship,  the  sun  reached  to  the  eastern 
clouds,  dashing  them  with  pink  and  bronze  and  blue. 
I  could  not  tell  where  the  horizon  went  to,  and  was  roused 
to  curiosity  as  to  what  kind  of  sunset  could  effect  such 
lovely  tints.  It  was  n't  a  sunset,  but  a  sunfall,  a  revela- 
tion. Where  suggestion  through  imitation  glistened  on 
the  eastern  side,  daring  prodigality  of  color  swept  away 
emotion  on  the  western  side.  It  was  neither  saddening 
nor  joyous.  It  was  a  vision  of  a  consciousness  in  nature 
as  full  of  character,  as  definitely  meaningful  and  emo- 
tional as  a  human  face.  There  was  something  almost 
terrifying  in  the  expression  of  that  sunset  face.  One 
could  read  into  it  what  one  felt  in  one's  own  soul.  And 
a  little  later  a  crescent  moon  peeped  over  the  horizon. 

At  about  midnight  of  the  seventeenth  day  after  leav- 
ing Sydney  we  crawled  over  the  equator,  and  no  home- 
coming ever  meant  more  to  me  than  seeing  the  dipper 
again  and  the  Northern  stars.  During  all  those  days 
nothing  wildly  exciting  had  happened  at  sea;  but  just 
after  we  left  the  equator  we  passed  a  series  of  water- 
spouts— six  in  all — which  formed  a  semi-circle  eastL  south, 
and  west.  The  spout  to  the  east  seemed  to  me  to  be  at 
least  two  or  three  hundred  feet  high,  and  tremendous 
in  circumference.  It  drew  a  solid  column  of  water  from 
the  sea  far  into  a  heavy  black  cloud.  On  the  sea  beneath 
it  rose  a  flutter  of  water  fully  fifty  feet  high,  black  as 
the  smoke  produced  by  a  magician's  wand.  Weird  and 
illusive,  the  giants  beggared  description  as  they  stalked 
away  to  the  southeast,  like  animated  sky-scrapers. 

Then  we  reached  Zamboanga,  the  little  town  on  the 
island  of  Mindanao  of  the  Philippines.  From  there,  for 


ASTRIDE  THE  EQUATOR  141 

twelve  hours,  we  crept  long  the  coast  till  we  entered 
Manila  Harbor2 

There  remained  but  two  days'  voyage  before  I  would 
reach  Asia,  the  object  of  my  interest  for  years,  and  of 
all  my  efforts  for  two.  But  it  was  not  so  easy  as  all 
that,  for  two  days  upon  the  China  Sea  are  worth  a  year 
upon  the  Atlantic.  Riding  a  cyclone  would  be  riding  a 
hobby-horse  or  a  camel  compared  with  the  Yellow  Sea, 
and  though  I  was  the  only  passenger  who  missed  only 
one  meal  during  the  whole  period,  I  was  beaten  by  the 
seventy-three-year-old  English  captain, — who  managed 
all  but  half  a  meal.  The  sea  would  roll  skyward  as 
though  it  were  striving  to  stand  on  end  and  for  a  moment 
the  ship  would  lurch  downward  as  though  on  a  loop-the- 
loop.  Sometimes  it  seemed  as  though  the  world  were 
turning  completely  over.  Yet  I  was  told  this  was  only 
normal,  and  that  typhoons  visit  it  with  stated  regularity. 
The  China  Sea  is  "the  very  metropolis  of  typhoons." 

A  month  had  well-nigh  gone  before  we  reached  Hong- 
Kong,  the  British  portal  to  Cathay,  a  month  of  dreamy 
weather.  Only  one  thing  more, — a  thing  more  like  a 
scene  in  the  Arabian  Nights.  Toward  the  end  of  the 
journey  I  discovered  where  the  five  hundred  Chinese 
whose  noses  had  been  counted  when  we  left  Sydney  had 
gone.  Going  forward,  I  looked  over  into  an  open  hatch- 
way, down  into  the  hold,  and  there  was  a  sight  I  shall 
never  forget.  These  hundreds  of  deck  passengers  were 
all  in  a  muddle  amid  cargo,  parcels,  hundreds  of  birds  in 
cages,  parrots,  a  kangaroo, — yet  oblivious  of  everything. 
For  the  entire  voyage  nothing  that  I  tell  of  could  pos- 
sibly have  come  within  their  ken,  as  during  those  days 
their  minds  were  bent  on  one  thing  and  one  alone, — on 
playing  fan-tan.  There  in  the  bottom  of  the  hold  hun- 
dreds of  gold  sovereigns  passed  from  hand  to  hand  in  a 
game  of  chance.  And  at  last  they  were  to  be  released, 
to  spread,  a  handful  of  sand  thrown  back  upon  the  beach. 

As  for  myself,  with  my  arrival  at  Hong-Kong  and  a 


142  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

visit  to  Shanghai  ended  the  longest  continuous  voyage  I 
had  made  upon  the  Pacific,  and  the  second  side  of  that 
great  Pacific  Triangle  was  drawn.  But  meanwhile  let  me 
review  in  detail  the  outposts  of  the  white  man  in  the  far 
Pacific — the  lands  I  had  passed  on  the  white  man's  side 
of  the  triangle,  ending  in  Hong-Kong,  where  white  man 
and  Oriental  meet. 


CHAPTEB 

THE  AUSTRALIAN  OUTLANDS 


IN  the  normal  course  of  human  variation,  there  should 
have  been  virtually  no  change  of  experience  for  me  in 
going  from  New  Zealand  to  Australia,  notwithstanding 
the  twelve  hundred  miles  of  sea  that  separate  them. 
And  though  the  sea  is  hardly  responsible,  there  was  a 
difference  between  these  two  offshoots  of  the  "same" 
race  for  which  distance  offers  little  explanation.  To  me 
it  seemed  that  regardless  of  the  pride  of  race  which 
encourages  people  to  vaunt  their  homogeneity,  the  way 
these  two  counterparts  of  Britain  have  developed  proves 
that  homogeneity  exists  in  wish  more  than  in  fact.  It 
seems  to  me  that  the  New  Zealander  has  developed  as 
though  he  were  more  closely  related  to  the  insular  Anglo- 
Saxon,  and  the  Australian  as  though  he  were  the  conti- 
nental strain  in  the  Englishman  cropping  out  in  a  new 
and  vast  continent.  However,  this  is  sheer  conjecture. 
All  I  can  do  is  to  offer  in  the  form  of  my  own  observa- 
tions reasons  for  the  faith  that  is  in  me. 

From  the  moment  that  I  set  foot  in  Australia  I  felt 
once  again  on  a  continent.  Melbourne  is  low,  flat,  and 
gave  me  the  impression  of  roominess  which  New  Zealand 
cities  never  gave.  They,  with  the  exception  of  Christ- 
church  on  the  Canterbury  plains,  always  clambered  up 
bare  brown  hills  and  hardly  kept  from  slipping  down 
into  the  sea.  But  in  Australia  I  felt  certain  that  if  I  set 
out  in  any  direction  except  east  I  could  walk  until  my 
hair  grew  gray  without  ever  coming  across  a  mountain. 
It  was  a  great  satisfaction  to  me  that  first  day,  for  it 

143 


144  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

was  intensely  hot  and  I  had  a  heavy  coat  on  my  arm 
and  two  cameras  and  no  helmet.  Added  to  my  difficul- 
ties was  the  cordiality  of  an  Australian  fellow-passenger 
frho  was  determined  that  I  should  share  with  him  his 
delight  at  home-coming.  He  was  a  short,  stout,  olive- 
skinned  young  man  of  about  twenty-three  who  had  a 
slightly  German  swing  in  his  gait  and  accentuated  his 
every  statement  with  a  diagonal  cut  outward  of  his  right 
hand,  palm  down. 

He  lured  me  from  one  end  of  Melbourne  to  the  other, 
made  me  lunch  with  him  at  a  vegetarian  restaurant, 
— which  is  a  very  popular  resort  in  Melbourne, — intro- 
duced me  to  Cole's  Book  Arcade,  to  the  Blue-bird  Tea 
Rooms,  where  fine  orchestral  music  flavors  one 's  refresh- 
ments, to  the  latest  bank  building  and  even  to  the  station 
of  the  railway,  which  "  carries  the  largest  suburban  pas- 
senger traffic  of  any  in  the  world."  "Meet  me  under 
the  clock,"  is  the  Melbournian  motto.  How  they  can  all 
do  so  is  beyond  me,  for  the  half-dozen  stone  steps  that 
lead  to  the  narrow  doors  at  the  corner  of  the  station 
could  not,  I  am  sure,  afford  a  rendezvous  for  more  than 
thirty  people  at  one  time;  yet  the  old  clock  ticks  away 
in  patience, — the  most  popular  and  most  persistent  thing 
in  Melbourne. 

I  had  so  much  trouble  keeping  pace  with  this  Austra- 
lian, who  seemed  to  grow  more  energetic  the  hotter  it 
became,  that  I  was  grateful  when  he  said  he  would  have 
to  leave  me,  and  I  was  alone  again.  Then  I  realized 
for  the  first  time  that  I  could  really  like  Melbourne ;  that 
it  had  long,  broad,  spacious  streets  with  clean,  fresh- 
looking  office  and  department-store  buildings,  that  even 
the  narrower  side  streets  were  clean  and  inviting,  and 
that  the  street  cars  were  propelled  by  cables  and  not  by 
trolley  wires.  So  easy  were  these  cars  and  so  low  that 
no  one  ever  waited  for  them  to  stop,  but  hopped  aboard 
anywhere  along  the  street.  Melbourne  was  to  me  a 
perfect  bath  in  cleanliness  and  orderliness, — just  what 


ONE  OF  THE  OLDEST  AUSTRALIAN  RESIDENCES  IS  NOW  A  PUBLIC    DOMAIN 


THE    INTERIOR   OF   A   WEALTHY   SHEEP   STATION   OWNER'S   HOME    IN 

MELBOURNE 


L         . 

A.  A.  White,  Brisbane 

AUSTRALIAN  BLACKS   IN   THEIR   NATIVE  ELEMENT 


AN   AUSTRALIAN   BLACK   IN   MELBOURNE 
Out  of  his  element  but  happy  none  the  less 


THE  AUSTRALIAN  OUTLANDS  145 

a  city  ought  to  be.  Even  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city 
the  homes  had  a  suburban  gentility  about  them,  and 
there  were  no  unnecessary  noises,  no  smoke,  and  no  end 
of  pretty  girls.  The  people  were  a  joy  to  look  at. 
Something  of  the  tropical  looseness  in  both  dress  and 
flesh,  as  though  their  skins  were  always  being  fully  ven- 
tilated, made  them  attractive.  The  New  Zealanders 
made  me  feel  as  though  !Lwere  in  a  bushel  of  apples; 
the  Australians,  carefully  packed  yellow  plums.  I  have 
never  enjoyed  just  being  on  the  street  more  than  I  did 
in  Melbourne. 

On  Bourke  Street,  in  the  very  midst  of  the  pushing 
crowd,  a  soft-voiced  lad  approached  me  for  some  infor- 
mation and  strutted  off,  tall  in  his  self-confidence.  Vic- 
torian belles,  tall,  graceful,  russet-skinned,  plump  but 
not  flabby,  moved  with  a  fine  air  of  self-reliance.  On 
closer  acquaintance,  I  found  that  these  girls  were  not 
silent  and  opinionless  as  were  most  of  the  New  Zealand 
girls.  Whatever  the  issue  before  the  public,  they  had 
their  defined  opinions  concerning  it,  and  they  were  not 
sneered  at  by  the  men.  Then,  too,  there  was  a  com- 
panionship between  the  boys  and  girls,  without  reserve, 
that  was  balm  to  my  soul  after  the  year  in  New  Zealand. 

Melbourne  was  the  home  of  Madame  Melba,  and  in 
consequence  the  city  is  the  most  musical  of  any  I  lived  in 
in  the  Antipodes.  Even  the  babies  sing  operatically  on 
the  streets,  and  the  voices  one  hears  from  open  windows 
are  not  the  head-voices  of  prayer-meetings,  but  those  of 
people  who  seem  to  know  the  value  of  the  human  larynx. 

During  the  two  weeks  that  I  was  in  Melbourne,  I  was, 
whenever  I  chose,  a  guest  of  the  Master  of  the  Mint, 
Mr.  Bagg,  who  was  the  uncle  of  a  New  Zealand  girl  of 
my  acquaintance;  lunched,  dined  and  afternoon  tea-ed 
with  his  family  whenever  I  felt  like  it ;  was  rushed  to  the 
theater  to  see  an  old  pioneer  play;  and  went  to  attend 
public  meetings  at  which  the  mayor  and  the  prime  min- 
ister spoke ;  visited  the  beaches,  and  knew  the  joy  of  the 


146  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

most  refreshing  companionship  it  was  my  good-fortune 
to  meet  with  in  all  my  wanderings, — though  there  were 
others.  And  it  was  so  with  whomever  I  met  in  Melbourne, 
from  the  clerk  in  the  haberdashery,  who  acquainted  me 
with  the  jealousy  that  exists  between  Sydney  and  Mel- 
bourne, to  the  woman  in  whose  home  I  roomed  on  Fitzroy 
Park,  or  the  young  couple  with  the  toddling  baby  and  the 
glorious  sheep-dog,  who  engaged  me  in  conversation  on 
the  lawn  near  the  beach  at  St.  Kilda. 

And  so  I  still  see  Melbourne  in  memory  as  a  place  I 
should  enjoy  living  in.  I  was  often  alone,  but  never 
lonely  in  it.  And  I  see  it  from  its  Botanic  Gardens,  with 
the  broad  Yarra  Yarra  Kiver  slowly  cleaving  it  in  two, 
its  soft,  semi-tropical  mists  hanging  over  it,  its  temperate 
climate,  its  cleanliness  and  its  low,  rolling  hills  where 
it  hides  its  suburbs. 

I  did  n't  go  to  see  Adelaide,  in  South  Australia,  because 
I  was  destined  to  live  in  Sydney,  in  New  South  Wales. 


It  is  more  than  mere  accident  that  Victoria  has 
broader-gaged  railways  than  New  South  Wales,  and  that 
travelers  from  one  state  to  the  other  must  get  off  at 
Albury  and  change,  or  between  New  South  Wales  and 
Queensland  to  the  north  of  it.  It  is  not  mere  accident, 
I  am  sure,  for  there  is  a  like  difference  in  the  width  of 
streets  between  Melbourne  and  Sydney. 

Sydney  is  hilly,  exposed,  bricky,  and  crowded,  and 
though  it  is  the  premier  city  of  Australia,  it  grows  with- 
out changing.  There  is  a  conservatism  about  it  which, 
in  view  of  the  activity  of  Australians,  is  inexplicable. 
Sydney  is  almost  an  old  city.  Its  streets  wind  as  though 
the  settlers  had  been  uncertain  of  the  prevailing  winds ; 
and  the  hills  tend  to  give  it  an  appearance  of  huddling. 
The  red  roofs  of  the  cottage-like  houses,  and  their  archi- 
tectural style  give  it  a  European  tone,  slightly  like  an 


147 

English  city.  It  has  none  of  the  fresh, '  *  hand-me-down ' ' 
regularity  of  the  American,  nor  the  sober  coziness  of  the 
English,  village.  Every  street  leads  one  to  the  center  of 
the  city,  and  wind  as  it  will  there  is  hardly  any  relief 
from  commonplaceness.  The  thoroughfares  are  crowded 
with  street  cars  which  cross  and  circumambulate,  some 
of  the  main  streets  are  too  narrow  for  more  than  single- 
track  lines.  Yet  instead  of  seeing  the  earlier  error  and 
trying  to  correct  it  by  prohibiting  the  erection  of  build- 
ings on  the  present  curb  lines,  the  authorities  have  per- 
mitted one  of  the  finest  office  buildings  in  the  city — the 
Commonwealth  Bank  Building,  to  be  placed  on  the  same 
line  as  the  rest  of  the  old  structures.  It  is  hardly  to  be 
expected  that  such  methods  will  ever  broaden  the  streets. 

There  are  no  tenements  in  Sydney,  in  the  New  York 
sense  of  the  term,  but  the  average  home  as  I  saw  it  on  my 
usual  rounds  in  search  of  quarters,  was  ordinary.  The 
rooms  were  small,  and  there  were  few  conveniences. 

But  this  is  Sydney  proper.  Newer  Sydney,  with  .its 
suburbs  and  homes  along  the  numerous  peninsulas  pro- 
jecting into  the  waters  of  Port  Jackson,  is  modern,  clean, 
and  airy,  and  really  convenient.  Man  is  a  lazy  animal 
and  prone  to  dote  on  nature's  beauties,  neglecting  his 
responsibilities  to  nature.  Sydney,  proud  of  its  harbor, 
builds  there  and  forgets  its  city-self.  There  are  no  fine 
structures  to  speak  of,  no  monuments,  no  art,  and  even 
the  library  has  to  borrow  a  roof  for  itself  in  a  building 
essentially  excellent  but  neglected  as  a  municipal  white 
elephant.  But  there  is  a  municipal  organ  in  the  Town 
Hall,  and  that  makes  up  for  much  that  is  wanting  in 
Sydney. 

I  took  up  my  quarters  across  the  water  from  Sydney, 
and  from  there  I  could  see  the  city  through  the  glory- 
lens,  its  harbor.  Little  peninsulas,  crossed  in  but  a  few 
minutes,  project  into  the  waters  of  the  harbor,  making 
it  look  like  an  oak-leaf  and  affording  sites  for  the  splen- 
did homes  that  have  been  built  there.  Crowding  is  im- 


148  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

possible ;  views  of  the  water  may  be  had  from  all  angles. 
And  here,  in  a  borrowed  nest,  I  sat  for  hours  perched 
above  the  water,  noting  and  gloating  over  its  moods  and 
character.  What  charm  it  works,  when  in  the  blood-red 
streaks  of  sunset  the  tidal  floods  cool  the  peaceful  tur- 
quoise ;  when  the  busy  little  ferries  of  day  become  fairy 
transports  with  streaks  of  shimmering  light  as  escort, 
moving  across  the  still  waters ;  when  on  Sunday  morning 
Sydney  across  the  way  relaxes,  amazing  with  revelations. 
"With  street  and  sky-line  clear,  quiet  hangs  in  the  air: 
or  on  more  windy  days,  myriad  whitecaps  royne  at  the 
numerous  ships  which  cross  and  recross  one  another's 
paths.  In  one  direction,  industry  is  idealized ;  in  others, 
nature  and  beauty  lie  naked,  above  idealization. 

For  two  weeks  I  lived  out  at  Manly  Beach,  nine  miles 
by  ferry  from  Sydney,  and  went  in  and  out  every  day. 
The  Heads  lie  to  the  right,  and  as  we  made  our  way 
across,  the  swells  from  the  sea  beyond  rolled  the  little 
ferry  teasingly.  At  times,  when  the  swells  were  heavier 
and  the  crowds  excessive,  a  sort  of  panic  would  spread 
over  them,  but  some  of  the  inevitable  minstrels  that 
swarm  the  streets  and  by-ways  of  Sydney,  would  counter- 
act contagion  with  music  and  song. 

The  beaches  are  always  crowded.  Annette  Kellerman 
is  Australian,  and  somehow,  whether  as  cause  or  effect, 
Sydney  people  are  the  most  amphibious  folk  in  the  world. 
They  seem  to  live  in  the  water.  Every  spare  hour  is 
spent  on  the  wide  stretches  of  sand  that  lie  warm  and 
white  in  the  blazing  sun.  But  nothing  takes  precedence 
over  the  harbor  in  the  adoration  of  Sydneyites. 

Sydney  is  known  for  its  gaiety,  yet  I  was  lonely  in 
Sydney, — bitterly  so.  Perhaps  people  are  too  gay  to 
think  of  others,  perhaps  their  gaiety  made  me  exagger- 
ate my  loneliness.  ' '  Nothing  like  the  Australian  larrikin 
when  he  gets  going, ' '  you  will  be  told.  But  what  struck 
me  was  the  latent  distemper  that  lurked  beneath  much 
of  the  hilarity  that  I  saw  in  Sydney.  Australia  is  not 


THE  AUSTRALIAN  OUTLANDS  149 

very  different  from  any  of  us, — a  little  more  imitative, 
a  little  more  outspoken,  a  little  more  gruff,  a  little  more 
youthful.  But  wildness  is  not  specially  Australian ;  nor 
is  bluntness;  nor  yet  youthfulness.  The  Australian  is 
perhaps  a  little  more  reckless,  individually  or  en  masse, 
than  the  people  of  other  lands,  but  he  puts  up  with  the 
same  social  inconveniences  j  he  reasons  falsely  at  times 
and  gets  fooled ;  he  gloats  over  the  spectacular,  becomes 
intensely  excited  over  nothing, — and  suddenly  relapses. 
In  a  crowd  he  sometimes  becomes  belligerent,  yet  is 
easily  led  and  easily  relinquishes.  But,  above  all  else, 
he  is  gregarious.  And  it  is  because  of  this  that  he  takes 
you  in  in  Sydney, — and  drops  you  out  before  you  have 
known  what  has  happened  to  you.  Hence  he  is  an  in- 
veterate sportsman,  a  heavy  drinker,  a  perpetual  gam- 
bler at  the  races, — faithful  to  his  whimsicalities. 

Intellectually  he  is  a  fanatic,  but  tolerates  all  sorts  of 
fanaticisms.  A  Sunday  morning  on  the  beautiful 
grounds  of  the  Public  Domain  is  enough  to  convince  you 
that  Sydney  would  welcome  the  most  freakish  freak  in 
the  world,  imprison  him  for  the  fun  of  it,  then  sympathize 
with  him  if  he  dies  in  prison,  as  did  the  famous  naked 
man,  Chidley.  I  have  seen  Sydney  men  who  seemed  to 
me  men  without  hearts,  as  soft  and  gentle  as  women  in 
the  face  of  another  man's  hurt.  Yet  when  a  well-known 
army  officer  stole  funds  that  belonged  to  wounded  sol- 
diers and  their  needy  families,  I  heard  respectable  Syd- 
ney men  say  they  were  glad  he  got  away  with  it.  I  have 
seen  girls  at  carnivals,  who  at  ten  o'clock  went  about 
tickling  strange  men  under  the  chin,  snarl  at  them  at 
eleven  and  order  them  to  "Trot  along,  now."  I  have 
heard  Australians  say  harsh  things  of  themselves  in 
criticism,  but  true  loyalty  is  widely  prevalent  among 
Australians.  An  Australian  always  wants  a  mate, 
"some  one  who  would  stick  like  lead"  if  he  were  up 
against  it.  The  self-criticism  comes  rather  from  the 
more  thoughtful  Australians,  who,  looking  out  upon  the 


150  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

future,  want  to  see  their  country  hold  on  to  the  prize  it 
has  won,  and  grow  and  become  a  leader  in  the  affairs 
of  the  Pacific. 

But  though  Sydney  and  Melbourne  are  the  leading 
cities  of  the  commonwealth,  he  who  has  to  judge  of  the 
nation  by  them  wonders  where  that  leadership  is  to  come 
from.  The  love  of  pleasure  is  a  sign  of  health  in  any 
people;  and  Australia  is  in  that  sense  most  healthful. 
Material  progress  is  the  next  best  indication  of  the  state 
of  a  nation ;  and  Australia  is  universally  prosperous.  But 
it  is  in  the  outlook  on  life  that  a  country  justifies  its  exist- 
ence and  insures  itself  against  decay.  Until  the  war, 
all  reports  of  Australia  on  that  score  were  negative. 
Provincialism,  of  the  most  ingrowing  kind,  obtained. 
Every  state  thought  chiefly  of  itself ;  every  city  of  itself 
only;  every  district  of  none  other  than  itself.  But  with 
the  war  Australia  took  a  tremendous  leap  forward.  For 
the  first  time  in  her  history,  her  men  had  a  chance  to 
leave  the  land  which  intellectually  was  little  more  than 
a  sublimated  prison  to  them.  Half  a  million  men  left 
Australia  for  Europe  and  other  sections  of  the  globe. 
And  if  Australia  knew  what  she  was  about  she  would  now 
send  the  rest  of  her  men  and  women  abroad  with  the  same 
end  in  view, — the  education  of  the  people  for  the  place 
they  occupy  in  the  world. 

Much  criticism  is  flung  at  Australia  because  her  young 
men  and  women  are  inclined  to  enjoy  life  rather  than 
burden  themselves  with  a  succeeding  generation.  If  the 
beginning  and  end  of  life  is  reproduction,  then  that  is  a 
just  criticism.  But  the  welfare  of  the  living  is  as  im- 
portant as  the  welfare  of  civilization.  The  greatest 
criticism  is  not  that  people  will  not  bear  children  in  the 
face  of  trying  economic  conditions,  but  that,  having  ex- 
ceptionally favorable  circumstances,  they  show  no  special 
inclination  to  become  parents,  and  that  nothing  is  being 
done  to  create  conditions  under  which  the  bearing  of 
young  would  be  no  handicap.  But  that  requires  an  intel- 


THE  AUSTRALIAN  OUTLANDS     151 

lectual  outlook  which  is  at  present  wanting  in  the  cities 
of  Melbourne  and  Sydney.  There  is  an  over-emphasis 
of  pleasure  per  se,  a  lack  of  seriousness  in  the  con- 
cerns of  life. 

Sydney  lures  men  and  women  from  the  back-blocks 
and  makes  them  feel  human  again,  makes  them  forget 
the  plains  are  sear,  and  that  manliness  is  next  to  clean- 
liness. It  affords  dull  station-owners  a  chance  to  mix 
with  folk  where  sweetness  and  refinement,  and  not  crude- 
ness,  is  the  order  of  the  day  and  of  life.  It  takes  men 
and  women  who  have  been  told  that  to  increase  and  mul- 
tiply is  the  only  contribution  they  can  make  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  community  and  shows  them  that  there  is 
something  in  life  besides  that.  So  when  I  think  of  what 
Sydney  means  to  the  world  that  lies  behind  it  I  cannot 
refrain  from  offering  my  contribution  of  praise.  But 
then  I  ask  myself  and  Sydney  what  it  has  done  to  make 
the  back-blocks  better,  what  it  is  doing  to  build  up  the 
country,  and  the  fact  becomes  evident  that  it  is  only 
draining  it.  Fully  51  per  cent  of  the  inhabitants  of  Aus- 
tralia live  in  cities.  It  is  for  these  cities  to  lay  railroads 
and  highways  and  to  open  the  vast  continent;  and  that 
can  be  done  only  by  putting  prejudices  aside,  by  adding 
to  recreation  real  creation  and  a  soberness  in  the  affairs 
of  life  which  alone  will  win  for  Australia  its  place  in 
the  affairs  of  the  Pacific. 

What,  socially  and  individually,  then,  is  the  contribu- 
tion of  Australia  to  the  civilization  of  the  Pacific?  Is 
her  position  to  be  one  of  eminent  leadership  commensu- 
rate with  the  welfare  of  the  individual  members  of  the 
Commonwealth,  or  is  their  joyousness  going  to  make  her 
citizens  forget  ambition  and  their  ruling  destiny?  This 
much  must  not  be  forgotten, — that  born  as  a  convict 
colony,  Australia  has  more  than  justified  itself ;  that  the 
term  " convict  colony"  is  now  no  more  applicable  to 
Australia  than  it  is  to  Virginia.  That  handicap  notwith- 
standing, Australia  to-day  is  as  far  advanced  as  any 


152  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

nation  in  the  world.  The  people  do  not  generally  take 
to  higher  mathematics,  to  philosophical  thinking,  or  to 
science,  but  illiteracy  is  rare  in  Australia.  Given  a  con- 
tinent wherein  nothing  of  civilization  was  to  be  found, 
Australia  has  made  of  it,  in  a  little  more  than  a  century, 
a  land  productive,  healthful,  and  promising.  Much 
praise  is  due  Japan  for  what  she  has  accomplished  along 
material  lines  in  seventy  years;  how  much  more  praise 
is  due  Australia  for  what  she  has  done  in  about  the  same 
time! 


As  one  journeys  north  along  the  Australian  coast,  life 
begins  to  thin  out.  Fate  must  have  been  in  a  comic 
mood  when  it  apportioned  me  my  experiences  as  I  was 
leaving  that  island  continent,  for  in  Brisbane  it  allotted 
me  an  august  funeral,  and  in  Thursday  Island  it  sent  a 
missionary  out  to  "attack  me."  Thereby  hang  two 
tales. 

I  had  walked  what  seemed  to  me  fully  two  miles  from 
the  pier  in  the  Brisbane  River  to  the  heart  of  town 
and  was  rather  overheated.  My  septuagenarian  Eng- 
lishman trudged  along  by  my  side.  "When  we  arrived  in 
the  central  thoroughfare  I  took  note  of  the  fact  that 
things  looked  fresh  and  clean,  that  there  was  a  tendency 
toward  pink  paint,  but  that  otherwise  I  might  have  saved 
myself  the  journey.  Alas,  it  was  Saturday  afternoon, 
and  a  half -holiday !  Leaving  my  venerable  comrade  be- 
hind, I  strode  along  at  my  own  pace  in  search  of  adven- 
ture, my  camera  across  my  shoulder.  I  had  taken  to  a 
hilly  side  street,  and  must  have  looked  like  a  professional 
tourist.  Absorbed  in  seeking,  I  was  startled  by  an  ap- 
pealing voice  behind  me.  Turning,  I  found  the  owner  of 
that  voice  gazing  intently  at  my  camera. 

"That 's  a  camera  you  have  there,  sir." 

I  admitted  my  guilt,  wondering  what  crime  lurked  in 
the  possession  of  a  camera. 


THE  AUSTRALIAN  OUTLANDS  153 

"I  Ve  been  trotting  all  over  town  trying  to  find  a  pho- 
tographer, sir,  but  their  shops  are  all  closed.  Would  you 
mind  coming  along  with  me,  sir,  and  taking  a  picture  of 
a  funeral  as  the  mourners  come  out  of  church.  Lady 

is  so  anxious  to  have  a  picture  of  them  just  leaving 

church.  The  deceased,  sir,  her  husband,  was  a  very 
much  beloved  gentleman,  a  prominent  official,  and  de- 
voted to  the  church  in  which  now  lie  his  remains,  and  she 
would  be  so  pleased  if  you  would  come  and  taik  a  fouto 
for  her."  In  his  excitement,  he  slipped  into  the  use  of 
cockney,  so  prevalent  in  Australia.  I  threw  out  my  chest 
and  thought  to  myself :  ' '  See  here,  old  man,  do  you  think 
I  Ve  lived  in  New  York  and  London  and  Paris,  and 

Sydney,  and to  be  sold  a  gold  brick  in  Brisbane? 

But  I  '11  show  you  I  'm  game.  ' '  And  I  followed  him  up 
the  street.  But  sure  enough,  there  at  the  top  of  the  hill, 
from  an  imposing  church,  emerged  a  funeral,  posing 
to  be  taken.  It  did  not  matter  to  this  man  that  I  told 
him  my  ship  was  in  port  only  for  the  day  and  that  before 
I  could  possibly  make  a  print  I  should  be  either  in  China 
or  Japan.  But  just  then  Fate  thought  she  was  carrying 
the  joke  too  far  and  sent  along  a  native  son  with  a 
camera,  and  I  was  released.  I  set  out  for  the  ship. 

In  the  little  gullies  that  lie  along  the  way  were  shacks 
or  cottages,  raised  on  piles,  with  inverted  pans  between 
them  and  the  floor  beams.  White  ants  were  eating  to 
pulp  these  supports.  We  were  in  the  tropics  again. 

Fate  must  have  chuckled.  She  is  fond  of  practical 
jokes.  The  next  time  she  tried  one  on  me,  I  was  in 
Cairns.  Having  entered  Australia  on  the  ground  floor, 
Melbourne,  I  suppose  Cairns  might  be  said  to  be  the 
fifth-story  window.  I  left  the  ship  the  moment  she  was 
made  fast,  keyed  up  with  expectation  of  seeing  the  tropics 
again.  Ashore,  the  spirit  hovering  about  tropical  vil- 
lages took  me  in  hand.  No  better  guide  can  be  found 
on  earth.  With  a  voice  subdued,  it  urged  me  to  pass 


154  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

quickly  through  the  town,  which  was  still  asleep  except 
for  the  saloons  and  their  keepers.  The  spirit  leading  me 
complained  of  that  other  spirit  which  leads  and  captures 
most  men  in  the  tropics.  My  spirit,  happy  to  have  a 
patron,  offered  me  luxurious  scenes,  melodious  sounds, 
and  mellow  colors, — happy  in  receiving  a  grateful 
stranger.  While  pressing  through  the  little  village,  I 
noticed  the  mission  type  of  architecture  of  the  post-office ; 
the  concrete  columns  guarding  the  entrance  of  the  news- 
paper office ;  the  arched  balconies  of  a  hotel ;  the  delicate, 
dainty  cottages  raised  on  wooden  piles,  the  verdure  hid- 
ing defects,  and  the  main  building  lost  in  a  massive 
growth  of  yellow  flowers  overgrowing  roof  and  all.  A 
small  opening  for  entrance  and  a  pugnacious  corner  were 
the  only  indications  of  its  nature  as  a  residence.  Then 
there  were  a  " School  of  Arts"  and  a  double-winged 
girls '  school.  The  whole  town  was  pretty  and  in  concord 
with  the  scenes  about. 

But  I  was  not  held.  I  pressed  on  toward  the  hills, 
to  the  open  road.  Allans!  But  alas!  I  betrayed  myself 
by  doubting  the  "spirit  of  the  tropics"  which  was  guid- 
ing me.  I  resorted  to  a  tiny  mortal  for  information, 
and  in  that  way  angered  the  spirit,  which  instantly  de- 
serted me.  Not  content  with  whisperings,  I  had  sought 
definition,  asked  for  distance, — Where?  Whence?  How? 
And  I  lost! 

He  was  a  little  man,  with  worn  shoes  from  the  holes 
of  which  peeped  stockingless  feet.  In  the  early  morn- 
ing he  had  slipped  on  shoes  which  would  not  deprive 
him  of  the  dew.  He  had  covered  his  little  legs  with  a 
dark  pair  of  dirty  trousers,  his  body  with  a  soiled  white 
coat,  and  his  mind  with  misunderstood  scripture.  His 
bulging  eyes  betrayed  his  inward  confusion. 

Upon  inquiring,  he  informed  me  that  the  road  led  to 
the  hospital  and  would  take  me  fifteen  minutes  to  nego- 
tiate. Then  he  wanted  to  know  if  I  came  off  the  Eastern. 
"Any  missionaries  on  board?"  he  asked.  "I  don't 


THE  AUSTRALIAN  OUTLANDS  155 

know,1'  I  answered.  "I  suppose  that  is  something  you 
don't  trouble  much  about."  I  agreed.  "Ah,  that 's  just 
it.  Don't  you  know  the  Bible  says,  'Be  prepared  to  meet 
thy  Maker?'  How  do  you  know  but  what  any  moment 
you  may  be  called?"  "Well,  if  I  am,  I  have  lived  well 
enough  to  have  no  fear."  "Yes,  that  is  just  it.  You 
live  in  carnal  sin.  You  have  no  doubt  looked  upon  some 
woman  with  lustful  eyes  this  very  morning.  I  sin,  too, 
every  moment. ' '  Heaven  knows  I  had  not  been  tempted. 
I  hadn't  seen  any  woman  to  look  at,  and  nothing  was 
further  from  my  mind  just  then.  And  so  it  was, — sin, 
assumption  and  condemnation.  I  talked  with  him  a  few 
minutes,  asserted  my  fearlessness,  the  consciousness  of 
a  reasonably  good  life.  But  nothing  would  do.  The 
poison  of  fear  with  which  he  contrived  to  wound  me  I 
now  had  to  fight  off.  I  had  come  out  all  joy  and  happi- 
ness in  the  new  day,  the  loveliness  of  life.  If  worship 
was  not  on  my  lips  it  was  in  my  heart,  and  he  had  tar- 
nished it.  He  brought  thoughts  of  sin  and  death  to  my 
mind,  which,  at  that  moment,  if  at  any  time  in  my  life, 
was  free  from  selfishness  and  from  unworthy  desires. 

I  cut  across  to  the  sea, — not  even  an  open  avenue 
being  fresh  enough  for  me  now.  It  was  as  though  I  had 
suddenly  inhaled  two  lungfuls  of  poison  gas  and 
struggled  for  pure  air.  I  turned  back  to  the  boat,  not 
caring  to  go  too  far  lest  she  leave  port.  A  tropical 
shower  poured  its  warm  water  over  me  as  though  the 
spirit  of  the  tropics  felt  sorry,  and  forgave  me.  I  re- 
turned to  the  ship,  and  quarter  of  an  hour  later  we  were 
moving  out  into  the  open  sea  again. 


The  next  and  last  time  that  I  landed  on  Australian  soil 
was  at  Thursday  Island,  one  of  the  smallest  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales  group,  north  of  Cape  York  Peninsula,  in  the 
Torres  Strait.  German  New  Guinea  (now  a  British 


156  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

mandatory)  lies  not  far  away.  There  is  not  much  of  a 
village  and  most  of  the  buildings  are  made  of  corru- 
gated iron.  But  there  was  not  at  that  time  that  stuffy, 
damp  odor  which  pervades  Suva ;  nor,  in  fact,  was  there 
much  of  that  mugginess  that  is  Fiji.  Yet  it  is  only 
eleven  degrees  from  the  equator,  whereas  Fiji  is  thir- 
teen. The  street  is  only  a  country  road,  and  dozens  of 
goats  and  kids  pasture  upon  it.  The  few  stores  (closed 
on  Sunday)  were  not  overstocked.  There  are  two  large 
churches.  One  was  built  from  the  wreckage  of  a  ship 
that  had  some  romantic  story  about  it  which  I  cannot  re- 
call. There  was  also  another  institution,  the  purpose  of 
which  I  could  not  discern.  It  was  musty,  dirty,  dilapi- 
dated, with  shaky  chairs  and  shelves  of  worm-eaten  books. 
I  suppose  it  was  a  library.  Hotels  there  were  galore,  and 
though  bars  were  supposed  to  be  closed  on  Sunday,  a 
small  party  of  passengers  succeeded  in  striking  a 
"spring." 

I  wandered  off  by  myself.  Slowly  the  great  leveler, 
night,  crept  into  the  heart  of  things,  and  they  seemed 
glad.  Orientals  and  natives  from  New  Guinea  lounged 
about  their  little  corrugated  iron  houses,  obedient  to 
law  and  impulse  for  rest.  Japanese  kept  off  nakedness 
with  loose  kimonos.  One  of  them  lay  stretched  upon  the 
mats  before  the  open  door,  reading.  Others  squatted  on 
the  highway.  Tiny  Japanese  women  walked  stiffly  on 
their  wooden  geta  as  they  do  in  Japan.  Tiny  babies 
wandered  about  alone  like  wobbling  pups.  Upon  the 
sea-abandoned  beach  groups  of  New  Guinea  natives 
gathered  to  search  for  crabs  or  other  sea-food.  A  cow 
waded  into  the  water  to  cool  herself.  And  the  sail-boats, 
beached  with  the  receding  tides,  lunged  landward. 

Peace  and  evening.  Nay,  more.  There  is  not  only 
indolent  forgetfulness  here;  there  is  more  than  mere 
ease  in  the  tropics :  there  is  affluence  in  ease.  A  some- 
thing enters  the  bone  and  sinew  of  moving  creatures 
which  awakens  and  yet  satisfies  all  the  dearest  desires. 


THE  AUSTBALIAN  OUTLANDS  157 

And  nothing  remains  when  night  comes  on  but  lamplight 
and  wandering  white  shadows. 

Late  that  night  I  returned  to  the  ship.  Deepv  familiar 
sounds  revived  my  memory  of  Fiji,  on  the  other  line 
of  my  triangle.  A  chorus  of  New  Guinea  voices, — rich, 
deep,  harmonious,  and  rhythmic — rose  from  a  little  boat 
beside  us.  In  it  were  a  half-dozen  natives,  squatting 
round  a  lantern,  reading  and  singing  hymns  in  their  own 
tongue.  Such  mingled  sadness  with  gladness, — one  does 
not  know  where  one  begins  and  the  other  ends.  Shiny 
black  bodies  crouching  and  chanting.  Hymns  never 
seemed  more  sincere,  more  earnest. 

They  were  waiting  there  for  midnight  to  come,  when 
Sunday  ends  for  them,  and  toil  begins.  The  ship  must 
be  loaded.  Then  voices  will  rattle  with  words  and  curses. 
All  night  long  they  labored  with  good  things  for  other 
men.  When  I  came  out  in  the  morning  they  breakfasted 
on  boiled  yams  and  turtle,  a  mixture  that  looked  like 
dough.  Instead  of  using  their  fingers,  they  employed 
sharp  pointed  sticks,  doubtless  in  imitation  of  Japanese 
chop-sticks.  Progress ! 

Shortly  afterward  we  struck  across  the  Arafua  Sea, 
and  saw  Australia  no  more. 


CHAPTER  IX 

OUB  PEG  IN  ASIA 
1 

VENTURING  round  the  Pacific  is  like  reincarnation. 
One  lives  as  an  Hawaiian  for  a  spell,  enters  a 
state  of  non-existence  and  turns  up  as  a  Fijian ;  then  an- 
other period  of  selflessness,  and  so  on  from  one  isle  to 
another.  From  such  a  period  of  transmigration  I  woke 
one  morning  to  the  sight  of  Zamboanga,  and  knew  myself 
for  a  moment  as  a  dual  personality, — a  Filipino  and  an 
American  in  one.  All  day  long  we  hugged  the  coast  of 
the  islands  of  the  group — Mindanao,  Negros,  Panay, 
Mindoro,  Luzon — the  cool  blue  surface  of  the  choppy 
sea  between  us  and  reality.  After  so  many  days'  jour- 
ney along  the  coast  of  Australia,  through  sea  after  sea, 
it  seemed  unreasonable  to  require  a  turn  of  the  sun  in 
which  to  outstrip  a  few  Oriental  islands.  Then  we  swung 
to  the  right.  Ahead  of  us,  we  were  told,  lay  Manila, 
but  even  the  short  run  to  that  city  seemed  interminable. 
At  last  the  unknown  became  the  known.  A  red  trolley- 
car  emerged  from  behind  the  Manila  Hotel.  Life  be- 
came real  again. 

Our  ship  had  hardly  more  than  buoyed  when  a  fleet  of 
lighters  surrounded  her, — flat,  blunt,  ordinary  skiffs; 
long,  narrow,  peculiar  ones.  The  former  I  thought  rep- 
resented American  efficiency;  the  latter,  Filipino  whim- 
sicality. The  Filipino  craft  were  decorated  in  black, 
with  flourishes  and  letters  in  red  and  white.  Over  their 
holds  low  hoods  of  matting  formed  an  arch  upon  which 
swarmed  the  native  owners.  How  business-like,  yet 
withal  attractive.  And  business  became  the  order  of  the 
night. 

158 


OUR  PEG  IN  ASIA  159 

From  beneath  the  matted  hoods  of  the  lighters  flick- 
ered glimmers  of  faint  firelight.  Life  there  was  alert, 
though  quiet.  It  hid  in  the  shadows  of  night;  confined 
in  the  holds,  dim  candles  and  lanterns  quivered:  peace 
reigned  before  performance.  A  quiet  harbor ;  moon  and 
stars  and  mast-lights  above;  a  cool,  refreshing  breeze. 
That  was  my  first  night  in  Manila  Harbor. 

Morning.  Not  really  having  stretched  my  legs  in 
nearly  three  weeks,  since  sailing  from  Sydney,  Australia, 
I  naturally  felt  in  high  spirits  upon  landing.  The  mists 
which  hung  over  Manila  quickened  my  pace,  for  I  knew 
that  before  I  could  see  much  of  that  ancient  town  they 
would  be  gone,  dissipated  by  the  intense  heat  of  the 
tropical  sun.  I  was  eager  to  put  on  my  seven-leagued 
boots  to  see  all  that  I  had  selected  years  before  as  the 
things  I  wanted  to  stride  the  seas  to  see.  But  I  soon 
discovered  that  I  was  only  a  clumsy  iron-weighted  deep- 
sea  diver.  All  round  the  Pacific  I  had  traveled  alone. 
I  wanted  no  mate  but  freedom.  But  the  three  weeks  en 
route  from  the  Antipodes,  on  board  a  small  liner  whose 
major  passenger  list  was  made  up  of  monosyllabic 
Oriental  names  drove  me,  willy-nilly,  into  the  compan- 
ionship of  the  septuagenarian  English  captain. 


On  account  of  the  keying  down  of  my  reactions  to  the 
tempo  of  seventy-three  plus  British  sedateness,  I  wrote 
many  things  in  my  book  of  vistas  that  seem  to  me  now 
mere  aberrations.  Just  to  indicate  what  the  effect  was 
I  shall  confess  that  as  I  approached  the  Walled  City  I 
conceived  of  myself  as  almost  a  full-fledged  Don  Quixote 
storming  the  citadel  of  ancient  aggression.  But  my 
elderly  Sancho  Panza  held  me  back  lest  the  shafts  of 
burning  sunlight  strike  me  down. 

Standing  before  the  gates  of  antiquity,  even  the  most 
haughty  of  human  beings  moves  by  instinct  back  along 


160  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

the  line  of  the  ages,  like  a  spider  pulling  himself  up  to 
his  nest  on  his  web.  Bound  the  black  stone  wall  which 
encircles  the  old  Spanish  city,  that  which  was  once  a  moat 
is  now  a  pleasant  grass-grown  lawn.  The  wall  itself,  still 
well  preserved,  has  been  overreached  by  two-story  stone 
houses  with  heavy  balconies  which  seem  to  mock  the  pre- 
tenses of  their  " protector."  Outwardly,  things  look 
old ;  within  change  has  kept  things  new.  Mixed  with  sur- 
prised curiosity  at  two  Antipodes  so  close  together  comes 
a  feeling  of  contact  with  eternity,  the  present  of  yes- 
terday linking  itself  with  the  antiquity  which  is  to  be. 

A  long,  narrow  street  stretched  across  the  city.  Span- 
ish buildings  tinted  pink  and  delicately  ornamented, 
lined  the  sides.  White  stone  buildings,  chipped  and 
seamed  with  use  and  age,  lined  the  way.  Broad  entrances 
permitted  glimpses  of  sumptuous  patios,  refreshed  by 
tropical  plants ;  low  stone  steps  leading  up  to  dark  vault- 
like  chambers;  windows  barred  but  without  glass, — 
spacious  retreats  built  by  caballeros  who  thought  they 
knew  the  value  of  life.  Indeed,  they  knew  how  to  build 
against  invasion  of  the  sun  and  the  Oriental  pirate,  but 
not  against  the  invasion  of  time.  Perhaps  they  live 
better  as  Spaniards  to-day  than  they  lived  as  conquerors 
yesterday. 

Here,  within  the  walled  city,  everything  looks  as  though 
change  were  not  the  order  of  eternity.  Everything  is 
as  it  was,  yet  nothing  is  so.  Trolley-cars  clank,  motor- 
cars of  the  latest  models  throb  quietly,  pony-traps  and 
bullock-carts  stir  the  ancient  quiet.  One  wonders  how 
so  much  new  life  can  find  room  to  move  about  in  such 
narrow  streets  with  their  still  narrower  sidewalks  that 
permit  men  to  pass  in  single  file  only,  and  angular  cor- 
ners and  low  buildings.  But  there  they  are,  and  there 
they  bid  fair  to  remain.  Even  the  unused  cathedrals, 
whose  doors  are  here  and  there  nailed  shut,  stand  their 
ground.  Some  of  them  even  close  the  street  with  their 


FILIPINO  LIGHTERS   DROWSING   IN   THE   EVENING   SHADOWS 


THE   DOCILE   WATER   BUFFALO   IS   USED   TO  WALKING   IN   MUD 


ONE    CAN    THROW    A    BRICK   AND    HIT    SEVEN  CATHEDRALS  IN  MANILA 


COOL  AND  SILENT  ARE  THE   MOSSY  STREETS  OF  THE   WALLED  CITY  OF 

MANILA 


OUR  PEG  IN  ASIA  161 

imposing  fronts,  the  courage  of  fervent  human  passion 
in  their  crumbling  facades. 

At  that  early  hour  there  was  little  sign  of  human  life. 
Into  some  of  the  cathedrals  native  women  crept  for 
prayer.  Here  and  there  a  confined  human  being  passed 
across  the  glassless  windows;  here  and  there  a  tourist 
flitted  by  in  search  of  sights.  And  I  soon  realized  that 
within  the  walls,  intramuros,  there  was  nothing.  Across 
the  park,  across  the  Pasig  River,  there  one  finds  life. 

Yet  within  that  ancient  crust  there  is  new  life.  Some 
old  buildings  have  been  turned  into  government  offices, 
high  schools,  a  public  library  fully  equipped,  an  agri- 
cultural institute,  everything  standing  as  in  days  of  old, 
but  new  flowers  and  plants  growing  in  those  crude  pots, 
— old  surroundings  with  a  new  spirit.  Something  me- 
chanical in  that  spirit, — typewriters  clicking  everywhere 
under  native  fingers;,  still,  typewriters  don't  click  with- 
out thoughts. 

Here,  then,  is  the  conflict  in  growth  between  the  ends 
of  time,  heredity  struggling  with  environment,  the  foun- 
tains of  youth  washing  the  bones  of  old  ambitions.  They 
may  not  become  young  bones,  but  may  we  not  hope  they 
will  at  least  be  clean?  May  not  time  and  patience  re- 
mold antiquity,  absorb  its  bad  blood  and  rejuvenate  it? 
Typewriters  clicking  everywhere;  tongues  born  to  Fili- 
pino, then  turned  to  Spanish,  now  twisting  themselves 
with  English.  The  trough  has  been  brought  to  the  horse. 
Will  he  drink?  The  library  was  full  of  intelligent- 
looking  young  Filipinos,  the  cut  of  their  clothes  as  ob- 
viously American  as  the  typewriters  clicking  behind 
doors.  Both  typewriters  and  garments  indicated  effi- 
ciency, but  I  could  no  more  say  what  was  the  impulse 
in  the  being  within  those  clothes  than  what  thoughts  were 
being  fixed  in  permanence  to  the  sound  of  an  American 
typewriter. 

The  most  symbolical  thing  of  all  was  the  aquarium 
built  beneath  one  wing  of  the  great  wall  round  this  little 


162  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

village.  If  in  the  hard  shell  of  American  possession  ar- 
rangement can  still  be  made  for  the  freedom,  natural  and 
unconfimng,  of  the  native  Filipinos,  we  shall  not  lay 
ourselves  open  to  censure.  The  natives  may  not  be  sat- 
isfied, they  may  prefer  the  open  sea;  but  that  is  up  to 
them  to  achieve.  As  long  as  we  keep  the  water  fresh 
and  the  food  supplies  free,  they  can  complain  only  of 
their  own  crustaceous  natures  and  nothing  else. 


All  Manila  does  not  live  within  the  walls,  however, — 
not  even  a  goodly  portion  of  it, — and  the  exits  are  nu- 
merous. Passing  through  the  eastern  gate,  one  comes 
into  a  park  which  lies  between  the  walled  city  and  the 
Pasig  River.  Beyond  the  river  and  on  its  very  banks 
is  Manila  proper.  As  I  got  my  first  glimpse  of  the 
crowded,  dirty  waterway,  I  could  not  say  much  in  reply 
to  my  companion,  whose  patriotic  fervor  found  expres- 
sion in  criticism  of  American  colonization.  It  was  like 
looking  into  a  neglected  back  yard.  The  Englishman 
did  not  seem  to  see,  however,  that  to  have  done  better  in 
so  short  a  time  would  have  been  to  inflict  hardships  on 
the  natives  which  no  amount  of  progress  ever  justifies. 
Still,  with  memories  of  Honolulu  as  a  basis  for  judg- 
ment I  was  not  a  little  disappointed.  How  to  change 
people  without  destroying  their  souls, — that  is  the  prob- 
lem for  future  social  workers  for  world  betterment  to 
solve. 

Meanwhile  I  had  succeeded  in  eluding  my  burden  of 
seventy-three  years  and  opened  my  eyes  to  the  life  round 
about  me.  There  was  still  a  bridge  to  cross.  It  was 
narrow,  wooden  and  crowded.  It  was  only  a  temporary 
structure,  built  to  replace  the  magnificent  Bridge  of 
Spain  which  was  washed  away  in  the  great  flood  of  Sep- 
tember, 1914.  During  the  few  minutes  it  took  me  to 
saunter  across  it,  the  traffic  was  twice  blocked.  Per- 


OUR  PEG  IN  ASIA  163 

haps  to  show  me  how  full  the  traffic  was,  for  in  that 
moment  there  lined  up  as  many  vehicles  and  people  and 
of  sufficient  variety  to  illustrate  the  stepping-stones  in 
transportation  progress.  There  were  traps,  motor-cars, 
carts  drawn  by  carabao,  or  water-buffalo,  bicycles,  and 
trolley-cars.  Everybody  seems  to  ride  in  some  fashion. 

Yet  everybody  seems  to  walk,  and  in  single  file  at 
that.  Gauze-winged  Filipino  women, — tawdry,  small 
and  ill-shod,  or,  rather,  dragging  slippers  along  the  pave- 
ment— insist  on  keeping  to  the  middle  of  the  narrow 
walks.  Frequently  they  are  balancing  great  burdens  on 
their  heads,  with  or  without  which  they  are  not  over- 
graceful  or  comely.  Their  stiff,  transparent  gauze 
sleeves  stand  away  from  them  like  airy  wings.  One 
has  n't  the  heart  to  brush  against  them  lest  these  angelic 
extensions  be  demolished,  and  so  one  keeps  behind  them 
all  the  way. 

The  men  also  shuffle  along.  They  wear  embroidered 
gauze  coats  which  veil  their  shirts  and  belts  and  trousers. 
There  is  something  in  this  lace-curtain-like  costume  that 
seems  the  acme  of  laziness.  Neither  stark  nakedness 
nor  the  durability  of  heavy  fabrics  seem  so  prohibitive 
of  labor  as  does  this  thin  garment.  No  inquiry  into  the 
problem  of  the  Philippines  would  seem  to  me  complete 
without  full  consideration  of  the  origin  of  this  costume. 

But  one  is  swept  along  over  the  bridge,  and  is  dropped 
down  into  Manila  proper  by  way  of  a  set  of  steps, 
through  a  short  alley.  The  main  street  opens  to  the 
right  and  to  the  left.  It  is  brought  to  a  sudden  turn  one 
block  to  the  left  and  then  runs  on  into  the  farther  reaches 
of  the  city ;  to  the  right  it  winds  its  way  along  till  it  en- 
compasses the  market-place  and  confusion.  This  chisel- 
ing out  of  streets  in  such  abrupt  fashion  is  puzzling  to 
the  person  with  notions  of  how  tropical  people  behave. 
Why  such  timidity  in  the  pursuance  of  direction  and  de- 
sire? The  obstruction  of  the  bridge  promenade  by  the 
main  street  and  of  the  main  street  by  a  side  street  have 


164  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

a  tendency  to  shoot  the  seer  of  sights  about  in  a  fashion 
comparable  to  one  of  those  games  in  which  a  ball  is  shot 
through  criss-cross  sections  so  that  the  players  never 
know  in  what  little  groove  it  will  fall  or  whether  the  num- 
ber will  be  a  lucky  one  or  not. 

I  first  fell  into  a  bank,  and  the  amount  of  money  one 
can  lose  in  exchanging  Australian  silver  notes  into  Amer- 
ican dollars  is  sufficient  to  dishearten  one.  The  shops 
were  too  damp  and  insignificant  to  attract  me  much, 
however,  so  I  ventured  on  into  the  outer  by-ways  of 
the  city.  There  the  dungeon-like  stores  and  homes  and 
Chinese  combinations  had  at  least  the  virtue  of  ordinary 
Oriental  manner  in  contrast  to  our  own.  The  Chinese 
cupboard-like  stores,  that  seem  to  hang  on  the  outside 
of  the  buildings  like  Italian  fruit-stands,  held  few  at- 
tractions. There  was  an  obvious  utilitarianism  about 
them  which,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  is  the  last  thing 
the  man  with  no  fortune  to  spend  enjoys.  Shops  and 
museums  afford  the  unpossessing  compensation  for  his 
penury. 

As  I  made  my  way  ahead  to  a  small  open  square,  my 
attention  was  arrested  by  a  performance  the  full  sig- 
nificance of  which  did  not  at  first  appear  to  me.  At  the 
gateway  of  a  large  cigar-factory  from  which  came  stroll- 
ing male  and  female  workers,  sat  two  individuals — two 
women  at  the  women's  gate,  two  men  at  the  men's — 
and  each  worker  was  examined  before  leaving.  As  a 
woman  came  along,  the  inspector  passed  her  hands  down 
the  side  of  the  skirts,  up  the  thighs,  over  the  bosom, — 
then  slapped  her  genially  and  off  she  went.  Through  it 
all,  the  girls  assumed  a  most  dignified  manner,  absolutely 
without  self -consciousness  and  oblivious  of  the  gaze  of 
the  passers-by.  What  is  more  certain  to  break  down 
a  man's  or  a  woman's  self-respect  than  becoming  indif- 
ferent to  the  opinion  of  the  public  as  to  the  method  of  be- 
ing searched!  A  Freudian  complex  formed  to  the  point 


OUE  PEG  IN  ASIA  165 

of  one 's  believing  oneself  capable  of  theft,  the  next  thing 
is  to  live  out  that  unconscious  thought  of  theft  and  to 
care  nothing  for  the  censure  of  the  world. 

When  at  work,  these  girls  possessed  a  sort  of  sixth 
sense.  The  cigarettes  are  handed  over  to  them  at  their 
benches  to  be  wrapped  in  bundles  of  thirty.  They  never 
stop  to  count  them — just  place  the  required  number  in 
their  left  hands  encircling  them  with  thumb  and  fingers, 
reject  an  odd  one  if  it  creeps  in,  and  tie  the  bundle.  I 
counted  a  dozen  packets,  but  did  not  find  one  either  short 
or  over,  and  the  overseers  are  so  certain  of  this  accuracy 
that  they  never  count  them  either. 

But  what  a  different  world  is  found  at  the  public  school 
not  very  far  from  the  factory!  The  building  was  not 
much  of  a  building, — just  an  old-fashioned  wooden  struc- 
ture with  a  court.  Its  sole  purpose  seemed  to  be  to  fur- 
nish four  thousand  children  with  training  in  the  use  of 
a  new  tongue.  "Speak  English,"  stared  every  one  in 
the  face  from  sign-boards  nailed  to  pillars.  I  listened. 
The  command  was  honored  more  in  the  breach  than  in 
the  observance,  yet  where  it  was  respected  strange  Eng- 
lish sounds  tripped  along  tongues  that  were  doubtless 
more  accustomed  to  Tagalog  and  Spanish.  There  was 
nothing  shy  in  the  behavior  of  these  boys  and  girls.  They 
moved  about  with  a  certain  monastic  self-assurance,  less 
gay  than  our  children,  more  free  than  most  Oriental 
youngsters.  In  a  few  years  they  will  be  advocating  Fili- 
pino independence,  in  no  mistaken  terms, — if  they  have 
not  been  caught  by  the  factory  process. 

I  went  straight  ahead  and  found  myself  on  my  way 
back  into  the  city, — but  from  a  side  opposite  that  from 
which  I  had  left  it.  The  squalor  and  the  dungeon-like 
atmosphere  were  indeed  nothing  for  American  efficiency 
to  be  proud  of.  Slums  in  the  tropics  fester  rapidly. 
One  cannot  say  these  places  were  slums;  but  they  cer- 
tainly were  not  native  villages.  One  felt  that  here  in 


166  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

Manila  America's  heart  was  not  in  her  work.  Why  build 
up  something  that  would  in  the  end  revert  to  the  natives, 
to  be  laid  open  to  possible  aggression  and  conquest? 
One  felt  further  that  the  Filipinos  did  not  exactly  rejoice 
in  being  Americans.  What  they  actually  are  they  have 
long  since  forgotten.  Once  foster-children  of  Philip 
of  Spain.  To-day  the  adopted  sons  of  America.  To- 
morrow? How  much  more  fortunate  their  Siamese 
cousins  or  relatives  by  an  ancient  marriage!  Yet  all 
who  know  Manila  as  it  was  ten  years  ago  agree  that 
there  have  been  vast  improvements  in  a  decade.  One 
does  not  include  in  this  generalization  the  residences  and 
hotels  of  the  foreigners,  for  obvious  reasons;  still,  the 
welfare  of  a  community  is  raised  by  good  example. 

That  afternoon  I  stretched  in  the  shade  of  one  of  the 
walls  of  the  old  walled  citadel  with  its  fine  gateways. 
I  pondered  the  significance  of  those  stones  against  which 
I  was  resting.  One  gains  strength  from  such  structures 
as  one  does  from  the  sea, — not  only  in  the  actual  contact, 
but  in  the  thought  that  that  which  human  effort  accom- 
plished human  effort  can  do  again.  My  septuagenarian 
had  returned  to  the  ship  for  rest.  I  thought  of  his 
criticisms  of  the  American  occupation  of  Manila,  of  his 
suggestions  that  England  would  have  made  of  it  a  fine 
city.  I  wondered  what  drove  the  Spanish  to  build  this 
wall.  To  protect  themselves  against  Chinese  pirates? 
There  is  not  a  country  in  the  world  that  has  not  tried  to 
safeguard  itself  against  invasion  by  the  process  of  inva- 
sion. Yet  any  attempt  to  do  otherwise  is  decried  as  im- 
practical. All  the  while,  decay  weakens  the  arm  of  the 
conqueror. 

But  more  luring  scenes  distracted  my  thoughts.  The 
sinking  sun  stretched  the  lengthening  shadows  of  the 
wall  as  a  fisherman,  at  sunset,  spreads  his  serviceable 
nets.  Filipinos  passed  quietly  to  and  fro;  cars,  motor- 
cars, and  electric  cars  cut  a  St.  Andrew's  cross  before  me. 


OUR  PEG  IN  ASIA  167 

The  scent  of  mellow  summer  weighted  the  air.     Slowly 
everything  drew  closer  in  the  net  of  night. 

Two  days  later  I  was  in  Hong-Kong,  where  the  Orien- 
tal dominates  the  scene.  I  was  at  the  third  angle  of  the 
triangle,  and  hereafter  the  subject  is  Asia. 


CHAPTER  X 

BRITAIN'S  BOCK  IN  ASIA 

1 

TO  one  who  had  received  his  most  vivid  impressions 
of  China  from  her  noblest  philosopher,  Lao-tsze, 
it  was  somewhat  disconcerting  to  peep  through  the  port- 
hole just  after  dawn  and  find  oneself  the  center  of  a  con- 
fusion indescribable.  The  sleepy,  heaving  sea  was  more 
in  tune  with  the  mystic  "Way"  of  the  great  sage.  I 
had  not  anticipated  being  thrust  so  suddenly  among  the 
masses  and  the  babel  on  which  Lao-tsze,  that  gray-beard 
child,  had  tried  to  pour  some  intellectual  oil. 

Yet,  I  had  been  living  on  the  top  floor  of  a  Chinese 
"den"  for  twenty-six  days  between  Sydney  and  Hong- 
Kong.  On  board  I  was  ready  to  blame  the  steamship 
company  for  the  crowding  and  the  uncleanliness.  Had 
there  been  a  dozen  murders,  I  should  not  have  regarded 
it  as  unnatural.  Had  I  been  compelled  to  spend  three 
weeks  in  such  circumstances,  I  should  either  have  com- 
mitted hara-kiri  or  killed  off  at  least  four  hundred  and 
fifty-five  to  make  the  decent  amount  of  room  necessary  for 
the  remaining  fifty.  So  I  was  prepared  to  exonerate 
them,  to  praise  them  for  their  pacifism  and  their  order- 
liness in  such  conditions. 

But  when  I  peeped  out  of  the  porthole  that  morning 
and  saw  the  swarming  thousands  struggling  with  one 
another  to  secure  a  pittance  of  privilege,  which  these 
five  hundred  had  to  offer  by  way  of  baggage,  my  heart 
went  out  to  the  great  sage  of  650  B.  c.  He  must  have 
been  courageous  indeed. 

Full  families  of  them  on  their  shallow  sampans  co- 

168 


BRITAIN'S  EOCK  IN  ASIA  169 

operating  with  one  another  against  odds  which  would 
sicken  the  stoutest-hearted  white  folk.  Yet  in  that 
Oriental  mass  there  was  the  ever-present  exultation  of 
spirit.  Laughter  and  good-natured  bullying,  full  rec- 
ognition of  the  other  man's  right  to  rob  and  be  robbed. 
No  smug  morality  teaching  you  to  be  shy  and  generous 
in  the  face  of  an  obviously  bad  world,  a  world  ordered  so 
as  to  make  goodness  the  most  expensive  instead  of  the 
least  expensive  quality.  But  I  soon  discovered  that  be- 
neath that  external  jollity  only  too  frequently  fluttered  a 
fearful  heart,  filled  with  dread  of  the  slightest  change 
of  circumstances. 

The  distance  between  the  ship  and  the  shore  was  not 
like  Charon's  river  Styx,  but  it  was  a  way  between  the 
Elysium  of  an  alien  metropolis  and  a  Hades  of  hopeless 
nativity,  none  the  less.  Beyond  stood  the  towering  hills 
of  Hong-Kong  with  its  massive  palaces  in  marble  at  the 
very  summit.  Chinese  will  to  live  had  builded  these, 
but  the  people  had  not,  it  seems,  enough  will  left  to  build 
for  themselves.  From  the  very  foot  of  the  hills  upward 
rose  a  steady  series  of  buildings  which  looked  surpris- 
ingly familiar,  yet  somewhat  alien  to  my  expectations. 
It  was  something  of  a  shock  to  me  to  find  that  Hong-Kong 
was  Chinese  in  name  and  character  only,  while  being 
European-owned  and  ordered.  I  felt  fooled.  I  had 
gone  to  see  China,  but  found  only  another  outpost  of 
Great  Britain.  My  American  passport  had  had  most 
fascinating  Chinese  characters  on  the  back  of  it.  But 
the  " Emergency  Permit"  issued  to  me  in  Sydney,  had 
none.  Between  British  ports  one  can  always  expect 
British  courtesy  and  that  largeness  of  heart  which  comes 
from  having  taken  pretty  nearly  all  there  is  worth  while 
in  the  world  without  being  afraid  of  losing  it.  So  I  made 
some  hurried  mental  adjustments  as  we  chugged  our 
way  across,  amidst  bobbing  sampans,  and  convinced  my- 
self that  it  might  have  been  worse. 

In  that  great  future  which  will  put  modern  civilization 


170  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

somewhere  half-way  between  the  Stone  Age  and  itself, 
the  stones  of  Hong-Kong  will  give  investigators  much  to 
think  about.  Everything  in  Hong-Kong  is  concrete  and 
stone.  From  the  spacious  office  buildings  that  stand 
along  the  waterfront,  to  the  palaces  upon  the  peak,  stone 
is  the  material  out  of  which  everything  is  built.  What 
achievement !  What  a  monument  to  Britain !  But  as  the 
stones  become  harder  beneath  one's  feet,  one  senses  the 
toil  embodied  in  them.  Male  and  female  coolies  still 
trudge  over  these  stony  paths,  carrying  baskets  of 
gravel,  tar,  or  sand  higher  and  higher.  These  structures 
seemed  to  me  like  human  bridges  which  great  leaders  of 
men  sometimes  lay  for  their  armies  to  pass  over.  Where 
do  they  lead  to?  Perhaps  to  England's  greatness;  per- 
haps to  the  world's  shame. 

At  first  one  is  prone  to  be  rigid  in  one's  judgment. 
There  seems  too  much  evidence  of  desire  to  build 
securely,  rather  than  humanely  or  beautifully.  The 
Orient,  one  hears,  builds  more  daintily,  more  softly,  more 
picturesquely;  America  builds  more  comfortably  and 
more  thoroughly.  One  might  add,  apologetically,  that 
had  not  the  masters  driven  these  coolies  to  such  stony 
tasks,  the  poor  creatures  would  simply  have  built  another 
Chinese  wall  at  the  behest  of  one  of  their  own  tyrants. 
Cheap  labor  makes  pyramids  and  walls,  and  palaces  on 
the  peaks  of  Hong-Kong.  But  it  also  makes  an  unsightly 
slough  of  humanity  about  itself.  Considering  how  costly 
pyramids  and  palaces  such  as  those  at  Hong-Kong  are, 
considering  the  plodding  toil  it  took  to  build  them,  for 
the  sake  of  humanity  it  is  better  that  they  were  built  of 
stone,  so  that  rebuilding  may  never  be  necessary. 

Everywhere  as  we  climb  we  pass  rest  stations,  coolies 
buying  a  few  cents'  worth  of  food,  coolies  carrying 
cement.  While  far  beneath  lies  murky,  moldy  Hong- 
Kong  with  its  worm-like  streets,  its  misty  harbor  waters, 
its  hundreds  of  steamers,  sail-boats,  sampans,  piers,  and 
dry-docks,  and  all  around  stand  the  peaks  of  earth  and 


BRITAIN'S  ROCK  IN  ASIA  171 

the  inverted  peaks  of  air.  Returning  by  another  route, 
down  more  winding  and  more  precipitous  paths,  one 
passes  great  concrete  reservoirs,  tennis-courts,  an  incline 
railway,  water-sheds, — and  the  city  again. 


The  days  draw  on  even  here,  and  sunlight  is  curtained 
by  dim  night.  The  din  of  human  voices  loses  its  shrill 
tone  of  bargaining,  the  rickshaw  men  trot  regularly  but 
more  slowly.  Carriers  of  sedan-chairs  lag  beneath  their 
loads;  their  steps  slow  down  to  a  walk.  Women  by  the 
dozen  slip  by,  still  with  their  burdens,  but  their  voices 
have  a  note  of  softness,  pleasing  sadness.  And  now 
comes  the  time  of  day  when  no  matter  in  what  station 
one's  life  may  be  cast,  spirit  and  body  shift  to  better 
adjustment.  And  through  the  dim  blue  mist  the  shuffling 
of  feet  is  heard,  or  the  sounding  of  loose  wooden  slippers 
like  drops  of  water  in  a  well.  Whatever  revived  activ- 
ities may  follow  this  twilight  hour,  now,  for  the  world 
entire,  is  rest, — even  in  toil-worn,  grubbing,  groveling 
China,  which  seems  not  to  have  been  born  to  rest. 

"Business"  is  not  yet  gone  from  the  streets  of  Hong- 
Kong,  though  it  is  now  wholly  dark.  Every  one  is  work- 
ing as  though  the  day  were  but  just  beginning  and  it  were 
not  Sunday  night.  It  is  impossible  to  select  "  import- 
ant" things  from  out  this  heap  of  human  debris.  Filth, 
odors,  activity,  jewelry,  dirty  little  heaps  and  packets 
of  food, — all  are  handled  over  and  over  again,  and  each 
one  is  content  with  a  lick  of  the  fingers  for  the  handling. 
Then  when  quite  worn  out  one  may  rest  his  bones  on 
the  pavement  covered  with  straw  or  mat,  or  if  more 
fortunate,  may  have  a  hovel  or  a  house  in  which  to  breed. 
The  number  of  homeless  wretches  sleeping  on  the  inclined 
stone  pavements  of  Hong-Kong  was  simply  appalling. 
And  Hong-Kong  is  British  made.  Hong-Kong  was  a 
barren  island  twenty-nine  miles  in  area  when  seventy- 


172  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

five  years  or  so  ago  Britain  demanded  it  from  China; 
to-day  its  population  is  nearly  a  tenth  of  that  of  the 
whole  continent  of  Australia.  But  what  a  difference  in 
the  status  of  that  population!  Certainly  no  man  who 
sees  the  result  of  over-population  in  proportion  to  a 
people's  industrial  ingenuity  can  blame  Australia  for 
keeping  herself  under  reproductive  self-control. 

A  few  of  the  things  one  sees  as  a  matter  of  course 
in  Hong-Kong  will  illustrate.  As  I  was  coming  down 
Pottinger  Street  I  was  horror-struck  at  the  sight  of  a 
small  boy  on  his  knees  groaning  and  wailing  as  though 
he  were  in  unendurable  agony.  I  thought  at  first  he 
was  having  a  fit,  but  it  became  obvious  that  there  was 
method  in  his  madness.  He  was  repeating  some  incan- 
tation, bowing  his  head  to  the  ground,  tapping  fran- 
tically with  a  tin  can  on  the  stones,  and  chanting  or 
shrieking  out  his  blessings  or  his  curses,  which  ever  the 
case  may  have  been.  He  was  a  blind  beggar,  and  though 
he  must  have  received  more  money  than  many  a  coolie 
does  (for  even  Chinese  have  coins  to  give)  and  in  a  way 
certainly  earned  it,  I  could  not  but  smile  at  his  wisdom, — 
for  at  its  worst  it  was  no  worse  than  the  labor  of  the 
coolie.  Yet  from  many  passers-by  he  evoked  only  slight 
amusement. 

Upon  some  steps  in  an  unlighted  thoroughfare  stood 
a  Chinese  haranguing  a  crowd.  His  voice  was  not 
unpleasant,  his  manner  was  persuasive.  But  what  tot 
Had  he  been  urging  China  to  stop  breeding,  to  cease  this 
worm-like  living  and  reproducing,  I  should  have  regarded 
him  as  a  public  benefactor.  For  it  made  me  creepy,  this 
proximity  to  such  squirming  numbers. 

Beside  a  dirty  wall  around  the  corner  was  a  medicine 
man  selling  a  miraculous  bundle  of  herbs.  He  screeched 
its  powers,  gave  each  a  smell,  which  each  one  took  since 
it  cost  nothing,  and  then  he  went  into  frightful  contortions 
to  demonstrate  that  which  these  herbs  could  allay.  But 
from  the  expression  on  his  face  it  was  obvious  they  could 


BRITAIN'S  ROCK  IN  ASIA  173 

not  allay  his  disappointment  that  the  purchasers  were 
few. 

At  an  open  store  was  a  crowd.  I  edged  my  way  up  to 
see  fhe  excitement.  It  was  a  *  'doctor 's  operating-room. ' ' 
Upon  a  bench  sat  an  old  man,  gray-haired  and  almost 
toothless.  The  * '  doctor ' '  stood  astride  the  patients '  knees 
and  with  a  steel  instrument,  somewhat  rusty,  calmly  and 
carelessly  stirred  about  in  the  old  man's  eyeless  socket. 
All  the  sufferer  did  was  to  mutter  "Ta,  ta,  ta,"  pausing 
slightly  between  the  ta's,  but  never  stirring.  No  guard- 
ing against  infection  out  on  the  open,  dusty,  dirty 
thoroughfare. 

The  crowd  looked  on  without  any  sign  of  emotion.  A 
few  women  sat  on  a  bench  inside,  but  seemed  quite  indif- 
ferent. There  was  one  exception.  A  little  mother  with 
a  boy  of  about  six  contemplated  the  performance  with  a 
pained  expression.  Her  boy's  eyes  were  crossed  and 
turned  upward.  He  had  to  be  treated,  too. 

Finally  even  these  things  end.  It  is  nine  o'clock. 
Shops  are  closing,  the  crowds  on  the  streets  die  down. 
And  for  one  brief  spell  the  world  will  rest. 

Here  we  have  four  examples  of  life  in  China.  When 
we  examine  them  closely,  haphazardly  chosen  as  they 
have  been,  there  is  a  strange  uniformity  and  contradic- 
tion in  their  basic  situations.  The  blind  beggar-boy,  the 
charlatan  advocate  and  medicine  man,  the  careless  sur- 
geon,— at  bottom  all  charlatans,  yet  all  essentially  sin- 
cere. That  ranting  little  beggar  howled  his  lying 
appeals,  but  at  home,  no  doubt,  were  other  mouths  to  be 
fed  for  which  he — blind  head  of  the  family — was  respon- 
sible. The  herb-specialist  seemed,  from  the  tone  of  his 
Voice,  sincere  in  the  belief  in  his  remedies ;  the  surgeon, 
certain  of  his  operation.  Yet  that  is  what  China  is  suf- 
fering from  most,  and  because  of  the  faith  in  their  crude 
panaceas  and  the  conviction  that  five  thousand  years  of 
tradition  gives  folk,  the  Rockefeller  Foundation  will  have 


174  THE  PACIFIC  TEIANGLE 

to  work  for  many  generations  before  it  will  make  China 
prophylactic. 


There  was  another  incident  that  illustrated,  to  me  at 
least,  China's  ailment.  Hong-Kong  seemed  possessed 
one  night.  I  thought  a  riot  or  a  revolution  had  broken 
out,  but  it  was  only  a  house  on  fire.  Thousands  of  Chinese 
scurried  about  like  rats  looking  for  ways  of  escape. 
From  the  littered  roof  and  balcony  of  a  five-story  tene- 
ment a  flame  leaped  skyward  as  though  itself  trying  to 
escape  from  the  unpleasant  task  of  consuming  so  dirty 
a  structure.  The  curious  collected  in  hordes  from  every- 
where. 

I  made  my  way  into  this  mass  not  unaware  of  being 
quite  alone  in  the  world.  It  was  interesting  to  be  in 
this  sort  of  mob.  The  reason  for  China's  subjugation 
showed  itself  in  the  ease  with  which  it  was  controlled. 
One  single  white  policeman,  running  back  and  forth  along 
the  length  of  a  block,  kept  the  whole  mob  well  along  the 
curb.  It  was  amazing  to  watch  the  crowd  retreat  at  the 
officer's  approach  and  then  bulge  out  as  soon  as  he 
passed  by.  One  young  Chinese  stood  out  a  little  too  far. 
The  officer  came  up  on  his  rear,  yanked  him  by  the  ear, 
and  sent  him  scurrying  back  into  the  mob.  They  who 
dared  rushed  timidly  across  the  street.  I  remarked  this 
to  the  policeman.  He  was  pleased.  "If  you  want  to  get 
closer  up,  just  walk  straight  ahead,"  he  said.  And  so 
I  did,  as  did  other  white  men  who  arrived,  without  being 
stopped.  That  was  it :  we  were  quite  different  j  we  could 
go.  Later  a  host  of  special  police,  Chinese  and  Indian 
regulars,  arrived  and  relieved  this  lone  white  officer. 

This  incident  seemed  to  me  to  symbolize  China's  pres- 
ent state.  No  leader,  no  cohesion,  no  common  thinking. 
Had  the  mob  been  resentful, — what  then !  It  was  a  mob 
the  like  of  which  I  had  never  seen  before.  A  dull  mur- 
mur sounded  through  all  the  confusion.  It  seemed  to  be 


BRITAIN'S  BOOK  IN  ASIA  175 

of  one  tone,  as  though  all  the  notes  of  the  scale  were 
sung  at  once  and  they  blended  into  one  another  like  the 
colors  of  the  spectrum.  The  people  seemed  wonderfully 
alert.  Their  hearing  was  keen.  Two  tram-car  con- 
ductors conversed  forty  feet  away  from  each  other,  with 
dozens  of  yapping  Chinese  between. 

Thus,  China  enjoys  a  oneness  like  that  of  water.  Easily 
separated,  lightly  invaded,  rapidly  reunited,  her  masses 
flow  on  together  when  directed  into  any  channel,  and  it 
matters  little  where  or  why.  And  the  white  policeman 
assured  me  that  when  the  Chinese  still  wore  queues  a 
policeman  raided  a  den  and  tied  the  queues  of  fifteen 
Chinese  together  and  with  these  as  reins  drove  them 
to  prison. 

4 

Yet,  what  nation  or  race  in  the  world  has  maintained 
such  indivisibility  against  so  much  separation!  Think 
of  what  the  family  is  and  has  been  to  China, — its  creeds, 
its  government,  its  entire  existence.  Yet  the  family  and 
concubinage  obtain  side  by  side. 

There  was  evidence  of  this  in  British  Hong-Kong. 
Upon  the  street  one  day  I  saw  another  crowd.  It  was 
waiting  for  the  appearance  of  the  Governor  of  Canton. 
When  the  worthy  governor  emerged  from  a  very 
unworthy-looking  building,  the  crowd  cheered  and  gath- 
ered close  around  the  automobile. 

A  well-dressed  young  Chinese  in  European  clothes 
emerged  from  the  hall.  I  asked  him  what  was  toward, 
surmising  his  understanding.  Efe  spoke  English  fluently 
and  seemed  pleased  to  inform  me.  So  we  strolled  down 
the  street  together.  He  was  not  very  hopeful  about 
Chinese  democracy  as  yet,  but  believed  in  it  and 
expressed  great  admiration  for  America.  Britain,  he 
said,  was  not  well  liked.  He  spoke  of  his  religion,  his 
belief  in  Confucianism.  He  regretted  that  Hong-Kong 
had  no  temples  and  that  he  and  his  friends  were  com- 
pelled to  meet  at  the  club  for  prayer. 


176  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

Yet  though  he  was  a  Confucianist,  he  decried  the 
family  system.  "Chinese  cling  too  much  to  family,"  he 
said.  "One  man  goes  to  America,  then  he  sends  for  a 
brother  simply  because  he  is  a  relative.  The  brother 
may  be  a  very  bad  character,  but  that  doesn't  matter. 
So  it  is  in  official  circles  in  China  to-day.  Graft  goes  on, 
jobs  are  dispensed  to  relatives  worthy  or  unworthy,  effi- 
cient or  inefficient.  And  the  country  is  getting  deeper 
and  deeper  into  difficulties." 

As  though  to  prove  the  truth  of  his  assertions,  he  told 
me  of  his  own  experiences  as  a  child.  '  *  Chinese  obey, ' ' 
he  said.  "My  father  paid  for  my  education,  therefore 
my  duty  toward  him  should  know  no  bounds."  His 
father  had  had  ten  children,  only  two  of  whom  sur- 
vived,— he  and  an  elder  sister.  When  his  father  died, 
he  became  the  head  of  the  family.  Therefore  he  had  to 
marry,  even  though  then  only  fifteen  years  of  age.  He 
had  been  married  for  sixteen  years.  I  should  never  have 
believed  it,  to  judge  from  his  appearance.  He  seemed  no 
more  than  a  student  himself,  but  he  assured  me  he  had 
five  children, — one  daughter  fifteen  years  old.  Birth- 
control!  Limitation  of  offspring!  Why  bother!  If 
his  father  could  "raise"  a  family  of  ten  on  "nothing" 
and  then  just  let  them  die  off, — why  not  he?  So  does 
duty  keep  the  race  alive. 

And  duty  tolerates  that  which  is  sapping  the  very 
foundation  of  the  race, — not  only  the  enslavement  of  the 
wife  in  such  circumstances,  but  the  entertainment  of  the 
concubine.  I  saw  the  way  that  works. 

At  the  opposite  end  of  the  city  is  the  quarter  where 
the  concubines  abound.  Life  there  does  not  begin  till 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  if  as  early.  The  clanging 
of  cans  and  the  effort  at  music  is  terrifying.  Hotels  of 
from  four  to  five  stories,  with  all  their  balconies  illumi- 
nated, gave  an  effect  of  festive  cheerfulness  which  the 
rest  of  the  city  lacked  utterly. 

Upon  the  ground  floors,  which  opened  directly  upon 


IN   CHINA    DRINKING-WATER,    SOAP-SUDS,    SOUP  AND  SEWERS   ALL   FIND 
THEIR   SOURCE    IN   THE   SAME   STREAM 


SHANGHAI    YOUNGSTERS    PUTTING    THEIR    HEADS    TOGETHER    TO    MAKE 

US  OUT 


' 


THIS    OLD    WOMAN    IS    LAYING    DOWN    THE    LAW    TO    THE  WILD  YOUNG 
THINGS   OF   CHINA 


CHINA  COULD  TURN  THESE  MUD  HOUSES  INTO  PALACES  IF  SHE  WISHED— 
SHE   IS   RICH   ENOUGH 


BRITAIN'S  BOOK  IN  ASIA  177 

the  street,  the  women  could  be  seen  dressing  for  the 
evening.  Nothing  in  their  behavior  or  dress  would  indi- 
cate their  profession, — so  unlike  the  licensed  districts 
of  Japan.  The  women  never  as  much  as  noticed  any 
stranger  on  the  street.  At  the  appointed  time  each  little 
woman  emerged,  dainty,  clean  and  sober,  and  passed 
from  her  own  quarters  to  the  hotels  and  restaurants 
where  she  was  to  meet  her  chartered  libertine.  Her 
decorum  approximated  saintly  modesty,  and  she  moved 
with  a  childlike  innocence.  There  was  throughout  the 
district  no  rowdyism,  no  disorderliness.  Everything  was 
businesslike  and  according  to  regulation.  Strange,  that 
with  so  much  self-control  should  go  so  much  licentious- 
ness. But  it  is  part  of  the  mystery  of  the  Orient. 


Yet,  this  is  no  stranger  than  that  with  so  much  of  excel- 
lence in  Hong-Kong,  there  should  also  go  the  perpetua- 
tion of  coolieism;  to  paraphrase,  that  with  so  much 
dignity  and  honesty  in  trade  should  go  so  much  inhuman- 
ity in  the  treatment  of  men.  That  is  the  mystery  of 
Britannia, — and  her  success.  America  went  into  the 
Orient  and  immediately  began  educating  it.  In  answer  to 
a  German  criticism  of  British  educational  work  in  Hong- 
Kong,  the  " Japan  Chronicle"  (British)  says: 

Considering  how  much  greater  British  interests  in  China  have  hith- 
erto been  than  American,  the  Americans  are  far  more  guilty  of  the 
abominable  crime  of  educating  the  Chinese  than  the  British,  having 
spent  a  great  deal  of  money,  and  induced  young  Chinese  to  come  to 
America  and  get  Americanized.  Most  people,  including  impartial 
British  subjects,  would  find  fault  rather  with  the  narrow  limits  of 
English  education  in  China  than  with  its  intentions.  Hongkong  has 
been  for  many  years  the  center  of  an  enormously  profitable  trade, 
and  had  things  been  done  with  the  altruism  that  one  would  like  to 
see  in  international  relations,  there  would  be  ten  universities  instead 
of  only  one  and  a  hundred  students  sent  to  England  for  college  or 
technical  training  where  only  one  is  sent  to-day. 

Hitherto,  it  has  been  Britain's  success  that  she  has  not 
interfered  with  the  habits  of  the  races  she  has  ruled.    In 


178  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

Hong-Kong  she  has  built  a  modern  city  out  of  nothing, 
but  has  permitted  Asiatic  defects  to  find  their  place 
within  it. 

For  instance,  there  was  no  sewerage  system  in  Hong- 
Kong, — a  fact  than  which  no  greater  criticism  could  be 
made  of  Britain,  or  of  any  other  nation  pretending  to  be 
civilized.  In  this  no  question  of  altruism  is  involved,  but 
purely  one  of  self-interest.  And  if  greater  concern  for 
such  matters  were  manifest,  doubtless  it  would  work 
its  way  back  through  concubinage,  ancestor  worship, 
charlatanism  in  public  and  private  life. 

Having  taken  my  chances  with  criticism,  I  shall  risk 
praise.  Englishmen  have  never,  to  my  knowledge,  been 
given  credit  for  the  possession  of  romantic  souls;  yet 
nothing  but  a  deep  love  of  romance  could  be  responsible 
for  the  manner  in  which  Britain  has  preserved  Hong- 
Kong's  Chinese  face.  Despite  the  fact  that  it  is  entirely 
Western  in  its  structure,  I  never  felt  the  Oriental  flavor 
more  in  all  Japan  than  I  did  at  Hong-Kong.  The  sedan- 
chairs  that  take  one  up  the  steeps  and  remind  one  of 
the  swells  on  the  China  Sea  in  their  motion,  the  thousands 
of  rickishaws  that  roll  swiftly,  quietly  over  smoothly 
paved  streets,  the  particularly  attractive  Chinese  signs 
that  lure  one  into  dazzling  shops  with  unmistakable 
Eastern  atmosphere,  the  money-changers  and  the  mar- 
kets dripping  with  Oriental  messes,  left  an  impression 
on  my  mind  that  none  of  my  later  experiences  can  dispel. 


CHAPTER  XI 

CHINA'S  EUKOPEAN  CAPITAL. 


UNDER  the  benign  influence  of  a  Salvation  Army 
captain,  my  feet  were  guided  safely  through  some 
of  the  lesser  evils  of  Shanghai.  The  greater  could  not 
be  fathomed  in  the  short  time  allotted  to  me  in  the  Euro- 
pean capital  of  China.  Miss  Smythe,  who  resented 
being  called  Smith,  in  a  manner  that  revealed  she  had 
long  since  ceased  to  be  shy  of  mere  man,  belonged  to 
New  Zealand  by  birth  and  heaven  by  adoption.  She 
chose  Hong-Kong,  Shanghai,  and  Tokyo  as  temporary 
resting-places.  It  was  her  task,  every  five  years  or  so, 
to  make  a  complete  tour  of  the  Orient  to  collect  funds 
for  the  Salvation  Army.  Hence  her  captaincy. 

I  was  walking  along  Queens  Street,  Hong-Kong,  some- 
what lone  in  spirit,  when  a  rickshaw  passed  quickly  by. 
The  occupant,  a  fair  lady,  bowed  pleasantly  to  me  and 
disappeared  in  the  melee.  I  could  not  recall  ever  having 
seen  her  face  and  wondered  who  in  Hong-Kong  she  could 
be.  Then  it  struck  me  that  she  wore  a  hat  with  bright 
red  on  it.  Later  that  day,  as  I  stepped  into  the  launch 
to  be  taken  across  to  the  Tamba  Maru,  who  should  appear 
but  this  selfsame  lady.  We  greeted  each  other,  both  sur- 
prised at  the  second  meeting  and  at  the  coincidence  of 
our  joining  the  same  ship. 

"I  thought  I  had  met  you  when  I  greeted  you  on  the 
street  this  morning,"  she  said. 

All  the  way  from  Hong-Kong  to  Shanghai  she  was  as 
busy  going  from  class  to  class  as  she  was  on  shore, 
spreading  the  faith,  placing  literature  where  it  could  be 
found  and  read,  organizing  hymn  parties  and  discourag- 

179 


180  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

ing  booze.  The  Japanese  on  board  took  her  good- 
naturedly.  She  spoke  their  language  fluently,  but  I  could 
not  see  that  they  drank  one  little  cup  of  sake  the  less 
for  her. 

When  we  arrived  at  Shanghai  she  would  have  nothing 
else  but  that  I  should  go  with  her  to  some  friends  of 
hers  for  dinner.  Into  one  rickshaw  she  loaded  her  bags, 
into  another  me,  with  the  manner  of  one  handling  cargo, 
and  then  deposited  herself  in  a  third.  The  train  made 
its  way  along  the  Bund  and  out  of  confusion.  And  that 
was  the  way  I  was  shanghaied. 

Somewhere  in  a  street  that  might  for  all  the  world 
have  been  in  Chicago,  our  train  drew  up.  It  was  quiet, 
had  a  little  open  park  in  it,  where  two  streets  seemed 
to  have  got  mixed  and,  scared  at  losing  their  identity 
like  the  Siamese  twins,  ran  off  in  an  angle  of  directions. 
Here  at  a  brick-red  building  with  balconies  and  porticoes, 
and  a  dark,  damp  door,  we  made  our  announcement  and 
were  received.  Now  what  would  the  world  have  thought 
if  a  Salvation  Army  man  had  picked  up  a  strange  young 
woman  on  a  steamer  and  haled  her  into  a  strange  house  ? 
None  but  a  Salvation  Army  Lassie  could  have  done  what 
Miss  Smythe, — not  Smith,  mind  you ! — dared  to  do.  We 
were  welcomed  as  though  the  appearance  of  a  stranger 
were  in  the  usual  course  of  events,  and  I  was  asked  to 
stay  for  dinner.  The  hostess,  a  quiet  woman,  with  her 
pretty  young  daughter,  kept  a  boarding-house,  and  was. 
always  prepared  for  extra  folk. 

It  was  a  boarding-house  like  any  I  should  have 
expected  to  find  in  America.  The  rooms  were  spacious, 
hung  with  framed  prints,  and  dark  and  slightly  damp, 
according  to  Shanghai  climate.  There  was  something 
haunting  about  the  house,  but  to  a  homeless  vagabond 
like  myself  it  seemed  the  acme  of  comfort.  And  to  one 
who  had  had  no  real  home  meal  in  five  weeks  or  more, 
but  only  ship's  food,  the  spread  we  sat  down  to  was 
delicious. 


CHINA'S  EUROPEAN  CAPITAL  181 

Miss  Smythe  did  not  enjoy  her  dinner  as  much  as  I 
did,  for  she  feared  all  along  that  she  would  not  be  able 
to  get  to  church  on  time.  Then  it  was  too  late  for  me 
to  regain  my  ship,  so  I  was  invited  to  spend  the  night 
under  a  roof  instead  of  a  deck. 

The  next  day  I  wandered  off  by  myself,  but  not  till 
I  had  promised  to  return  for  Chinese  "chow."  In  the 
meantime  Miss  Smythe  had  spread  my  fame  among 
others  of  her  profession,  and  made  a  date  for  me  to  go 
to  a  "rescue  house"  or  some  such  place  that  evening. 
It  was  a  mission  home  for  Japanese,  run  by  a  woman 
who,  if  she  was  n  't  from  Boston,  I  'm  sure  must  have 
come  from  Brookline.  The  only  thing  Oriental  about 
that  mission  was  its  Japanese.  A  sumptuous  dinner  was 
served  which,  despite  the  fact  that  I  had  had  "chow" 
only  twenty  minutes  before,  I  was  compelled  to  eat.  With 
two  heavy  meals  where  one  is  accustomed  to  berth,  accom- 
modations were  somewhat  crowded. 

Everything  would  have  gone  well  if  I  had  n't  promised 
to  give  the  residents  a  talk  on  my  travels.  I  began.  Miss 
Smythe  felt  that  I  wasn't  emphasizing  the  presence 
of  God  in  the  numerous  regions  I  had  visited.  I  took 
His  omnipresence  for  granted,  but  she  kept  breaking 
into  my  talk  at  every  turn.  Two  meals  inside  of  two 
people  who  both  tried  to  lecture  at  once  didn't  go 
very  well,  especially  at  a  mission  in  China  run  by 
Europeans  and  attended  by  Japanese.  It  seemed  that 
there  was  not  over-much  love  lost  on  the  part  of  the 
sons  of  Tenno  for  those  of  the  Son  of  Heaven,  nor 
did  the  European  missionaries  at  this  place  encourage 
the  intermarriage  of  these  illustrious  spirits.  The 
Bostonian  in  exile  on  more  than  one  occasion  spoke 
disparagingly  of  the  cleanliness  of  the  Chinese,  much  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  Japanese.  But  then,  she  was  win- 
ning and  holding  them  to  the  Son  of  God,  and  when  they 
reached  heaven  they  would  all  be  one.  Miss  Smythe 
afterward  apologized  to  me  for  interrupting  me  during 


182  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

my  talk,  and  we  parted  as  cordially  as  we  had  met.  Some 
months  later  I  found  her  roaming  the  streets  of  Kobe, 
Japan>  as  active  as  ever  in  the  militant  cause.  Her 
insinuations  about  what  goes  on  in  Japanese  inns  seemed 
to  me  unjustifiable.  So  I  asked  her  whether  it  was  fair 
to  the  Japanese  and  Chinese  for  her  to  be  forever  repeat- 
ing hearsay  when  she  would  resent  it  were  I  to  repeat 
what  I  had  heard  about  the  morality  of  the  Australians. 
It  took  her  aback,  but  I  am  sure  that  she  is  still  pursuing 
vice  and  drink  and  irreverence,  aided  and  abetted  by  the 
dollars  which  she  extracts  from  foreign  business  men 
and  reprobates  throughout  the  East. 


But  I  must  get  back  to  Shanghai,  even  though  Miss 
Smythe  is  so  attractive.  As  long  as  I  remained  under 
her  wing  I  had  taken  virtually  no  notice  of  China.  So 
it  is  in  Shanghai ;  one  cannot  see  the  Orient  for  the  Occi- 
dentals. For  if  Hong-Kong  is  an  example  of  adulter- 
ated British  imperialism,  Shanghai  is  one  of  European 
internationalism  grafted  upon  China.  At  Shanghai  the 
forces  of  two  contending  racial  streams  meet,  like  the 
waters  at  the  entrance  of  Port  Philip,  and  here,  though 
the  surface  is  smooth  and  glassy,  there  are  eddies  and 
whirlpools  within,  which  are  a  menace  to  any  small  craft 
that  may  attempt  to  cross. 

How  strange  to  wander  about  streets  and  buildings 
quite  European  but  to  see  only  here  and  there  a  white 
face  I  It  is  an  ultra-modern  city  built  upon  a  flat  plain. 
The  streams  of  Chinese  that  come  wandering  in  from 
regions  unknown  to  the  transient,  give  him  a  sense  of 
contact  with  a  vast,  endless  world  beyond.  They  might 
be  coming  from  just  round  the  corner,  but  their  manner 
is  of  plainsmen  bringing  their  goods  and  chattels  to 
market.  In  comparison  with  the  Southern  Chinese,  these 
are  giants,  but  still  dirty  and  most  of  them  chestless.  In 
constant  turmoil  and  travail,  beggars  pleading  for  a 


CHINA'S  EUROPEAN  CAPITAL  183 

pittance  with  which  to  sustain  their  empty  lives,  limou- 
sines making  way  for  themselves  between  rickshaws  and 
one-wheeled  barrows,  coolies  pulling  and  carrying  loads, 
some  grunting  as  they  jig  their  way  along,  others  chant- 
ing in  chorus, — yet  all  in  the  "foreign"  settlement,  amid 
buildings  that  are  alien  to  them,  and  largely  for  men 
who  see  only  the  gain  they  here  secure.  I  wonder  if 
the  Chinese  say  of  the  Europeans  as  Americans  are  often 
heard  to  say  of  Italians  and  Orientals, — that  they  come 
only  to  make  money  and  return  to  spend  it? 

Yet  the  white  have  built  Shanghai.  Shanghai  is  not 
Chinese.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  white  men,  the  plain 
would  still  be  swampy,  would  still  be  a  litter  of  hovels 
with  here  and  there  a  mansion  flowering  in  the  mud.  The 
mud  still  messes  up  the  edge  of  things  in  Shanghai.  The 
creek  is  an  example.  There  are  the  sampans  and  barges, 
some  loaded  with  pyramid-like  stacks  of  hay,  some  with 
heavy,  thick-walled  mahogany  coffins,  the  myriads  of 
families  huddling  within  the  holds,  and  the  murky  tides 
washing  in  and  washing  out  beneath  them.  H^ere  the 
sexes  live  in  greater  intimacy,  it  seemed  to  me,  than  in 
Hong-Kong.  I  actually  saw  one  woman  place  her  hand 
in  what  I  was  sure  was  an  affectionate  way  on  the 
shoulder  of  a  man :  and  some  were  mutually  helpful.  But 
otherwise,  despite  the  great  conglomeration  and  greater 
cooperation,  in  the  entire  mass  one  cannot  see  how  ances- 
tor-worshipers can  show  so  little  regard  for  one  another. 

In  the  market-place  the  confusion  is  more  orderly. 
Here  even  white  women  come  to  stock  up  their  kitchens, 
and  here  Japanese  women  move  about,  sober  by  nature 
and  by  virtue  of  the  superiority  they  possess  as  con- 
querors in  their  husbands'  rights.  Two  girls  are  quar- 
reling vociferously  and  the  more  self -controlled  look  on 
both  sympathetically  and  antipathetically.  The  washed- 
down  pavement  of  the  market  floor  is  no  place,  however, 
for  a  serious  bout. 

Through  the  long  hours  of  early  evening  I  wandered 


184  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

into  one  street  and  out  the  other.  I  had  become  more 
or  less  reconciled  to  the  alien  aspects  of  Shanghai,  to 
good  stores  selling  good  goods,  to  fashionable  hotels  and 
spacious  residences,  but  one  thing  was  inalienably  alien 
to  it,  and  that  was  a  second-hand  book-shop.  It  had  not 
occurred  to  me  that  foreigners  in  China  would  part  with 
their  books  if  they  ever  got  hold  of  them.  And  for  a 
moment  I  was  altogether  transported,  and  my  magic 
carpet  lay  in  San  Francisco,  in  Chicago,  in  New  York 
all  at  once.  But  it  was  chilly  and  the  rain  made  the  city 
worse  than  a  washed-down  market,  for  it  depopulated 
the  streets,  leaving  me  as  dreary  in  heart  as  in  body. 
I  was  glad  when  the  hour  came  for  me  to  make  my 
appearance  at  the  kind  woman's  house  for  chow. 

Though  I  was  sorry  to  hear  the  missionary  at  the  mis- 
sion decry  the  Chinese  to  the  satisfaction  of  her  Japanese 
patrons,  and  felt  that  it  turned  me  slightly  against  both, 
still  both  Japanese  and  missionaries  were  kind  and  atten- 
tive to  me.  In  the  evening,  a  young  Japanese  business 
man  called  for  a  motor-car  and  took  us  out  in  the  bleak, 
wet  night  to  see  the  great  white  way  of  Shanghai.  The 
rain  deflected  the  strange  glimmers  of  electric  light 
through  the  isinglassed  curtains  of  the  car.  For  a  time 
we  skidded  along  over  slushy  streets,  turning  into  the 
theater  district  as  the  attraction  supreme.  Here  the  gon- 
falons drooped  in  the  watery  air,  while  Chinese  mess  mer- 
chants stood  in  out  of  the  rain  with  their  little  wagonettes 
of  steaming  portions.  In  a  whirl  we  were  through  the 
cluttering  crowds  and  making  for  the  residential  districts. 
Then  wide  avenues  opened  out  in  serpentine  ways,  shaggy 
trees  dripping  overhead,  the  slippery  pavement  swinging 
us  from  side  to  side  as  our  dare-devil  Chinese  driver  sped 
on  to  Bubbling  Well.  For  an  hour  we  rode,  I  did  not 
know  whither,  but  everywhere  at  my  right  and  left  were 
palatial  Chinese  and  foreign  residences.  Without  know- 
ing it  we  had  turned  and  were  back  in  Shanghai,  and 
presently  within  doors  again, — and  asleep. 


CHINA'S  EUROPEAN  CAPITAL  185 


Next  day,  this  same  Japanese  business  man  volun- 
teered to  escort  me  to  Chinese  City.  I  would  have  gone 
by  myself,  but  every  one  looked  horrified  at  the  idea ;  so 
I  accepted  this  knightly  guide.  At  the  appointed  time  I 
presented  myself  at  his  office.  He  had  asked  his  Chinese 
clerk  to  accompany  us  for  protection,  and  ordered  three 
rickshaws.  Though  he  had  lived  in  Shanghai  for  years, 
he  had  never  gone  to  see  Chinese  City,  and  was  glad  to 
avail  himself  of  an  excuse  for  doing  so  now.  The  Japa- 
nese is  a  natural-born  cicerone. 

In  a  few  minutes  we  had  left  the  international  section 
of  the  settlement — that  jointly  occupied  by  Britain  and 
America — and  wobbled  into  the  French  district.  Sud- 
denly we  stopped,  and  our  carriers  lowered  their  shafts 
to  the  ground.  We  were  at  a  narrow  opening  three  or 
four  feet  wide,  and  I  could  not  understand  why  we  should 
pay  our  respects  to  it.  "From  here  we  have  to  walk," 
said  the  Chinese,  and  in  single  file  we  entered,  dropping 
out  of  Shanghai  as  into  a  bog.  That  was  real  China, 
but  only  as  little  Italy  in  New  York  is  real  Italy. 

The  whole  of  Chinese  City  can  be  summed  up  hastily 
and  in  but  a  few  words.  Narrow,  dirty  little  thorough- 
fares laid  out  in  broken  stone  paving,  tiny  shops  where 
luxuries,  necessities,  and  coolie  requisites  are  sold, — 
dark,  dirty,  open  to  the  damp !  What  destitution  is  the 
inheritance  of  these  thousands  of  years  of  civilization ! 

The  first  thing  to  greet  us,  standing  out  against  the 
general  wretchedness,  was  not  beautiful.  To  one  accus- 
tomed to  hard  sights  and  scenes,  to  one  not  easily  per- 
turbed by  human  degradation,  that  which  passed  as  we 
entered  was  sufficient  to  unnerve  him.  Upon  the  wet, 
filthy  street  rolled  a  legless  boy.  He  had  no  crutches; 
his  business  required  none.  He  was  begging:  howling, 
chanting,  and  rolling  all  at  the  same  time.  I  could  not 


186  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

say  "Poor  child!"  Bather,  poor  China,  that  it  should 
come  to  this ! 

Immediately  after,  though  having  no  business  connec- 
tions, came  an  old  man.  Came?  Walked  crouching, 
bowing  his  gray  head  till  it  touched  the  filthy  pathway. 
He  was  kotowing  before  the  menials  of  China,  not  its 
empress. 

The  third  was  the  worst  of  all.  One  old,  ragged, 
broken  beggar  was  carrying  on  his  back  what  might  have 
been  a  corpse,  but  was  another  beggar;  the  two — one  on 
top  of  the  other — were  not  more  than  four  feet  above 
the  ground. 

I  felt  as  though  Mara,  the  Evil  One,  was  trying  to 
frighten  me  by  an  exhibition  of  his  pet  horrors  so  that 
I  might  not  go  farther.  I  was  not  being  perturbed,  the 
horrors  ceased. 

But  what  beauties  or  treasures  were  they  meant  to 
guard?  What  was  there  that  I  was  not  to  see?  What 
ogre  dwelt  within?  Nothing  but  a  bit  of  business,  so 
to  speak,  in  a  social  bog. 

Beside  a  tideless  creek,  advertised  as  a  lake,  stood  a 
pagoda-like  structure,  just  a  broken  reflection  imaged 
in  the  mud.  As  we  approached  we  were  immediately 
taken  in  charge  by  a  Chinese  guide  and  led  along  a  path 
crudely  paved  with  cobblestones  into  an  "ancient"  tea- 
garden.  The  wall  around  it  was  topped  with  a  vicious- 
looking  dragon  that  stretched  around  it.  A  tremendous 
monster  of  wood,  it  lay  there ;  and  perhaps  it  will  continue 
to  lie  there  long  after  China  shall  have  forsaken  the 
dragon.  Then  from  chamber  to  chamber  we  strolled,  past 
tables  of  stone  and  shrines  and  effigies,  and  into  the  heart 
of  China's  superstitious  soul.  Though  in  itself  not  an- 
cient, what  a  peep  it  afforded  into  antiquity, — dull,  dead, 
yet  powerful! 

For  within  these  secret  chambers  there  were  displayed 
endless  numbers  of  emperors  and  their  dynastic  celeb- 
rities. In  one  chamber,  blue  with  smoke  and  stifling 


CHINA'S  EUROPEAN  CAPITAL  187 

incense,  lighted  with  red  candles,  burning  joss-sticks, 
behung  with  lanterns,  and  crowded  with  lazy  Chinese, 
we  found  several  "emperors"  with  red-painted  wooden 
effigies  of  their  wives.  To  me  the  smoke  was  choking; 
not  so  to  them.  The  incense  was  sweet  in  their  nostrils, 
and  nourishing.  And  in  payment  for  the  sacrificial  gen- 
erosity and  the  prayers  of  fat,  wealthy  Chinese  women 
who  fell  upon  their  knees,  rose,  and  fell  again,  bowing 
and  repeating  incantations,  they  were  to  make  the  hus- 
bands of  these  women — too  busy  to  come  themselves — 
meet  with  success  in  business.  Seriousness  and  earnest- 
ness marked  the  features  of  these  women,  and  who  can 
say  their  faith  was  ignored? 

We  emerged  from  this  underground  chamber  upon 
another  thoroughfare,  pursuing  which  we  came  upon 
an  open,  unused  plot.  Here  a  circus  had  attracted  a 
crowd.  A  three-year-old  baby,  a  pretty  little  sister,  a 
feminine  father,  and  a  masculine  mother  were  the  enter- 
tainers. They  were  acrobats.  A  family  row — which,  it 
would  seem,  is  not  unknown  in  China — was  enacted  with- 
out any  of  the  details  being  omitted;  nor  did  they  stop 
at  coarse  and  vulgar  acts  which  would  have  brought  the 
police  down  upon  them  in  America.  Yet  the  audience 
seemed  highly  amused,  while  some  of  the  spectators 
might  easily  have  posed  for  paintings  of  Chinese  bearded 
saints,  or  have  been  models  for  some  of  the  sacred  effi- 
gies which,  not  more  than  a  block  away,  were  idols  in 
the  temple. 

These  are  the  high  spots  in  Chinese  City,  a  city  into 
which  I  was  urged  not  to  venture  alone.  That  human  life 
should  be  considered  of  little  worth  here  is  not  marvel- 
ous; but  that  any  one  there  should  consider  the  pro- 
longation of  his  own  a  bit  worth  the  taking  of  mine,  is 
one  of  the  inexplicable  marvels  of  the  world. 

Is  this  China?  By  no  means.  It  is  merely  the  back- 
wash of  the  contact  with  European  life  which  has  been 
imposed  on  China  without  sufficient  chance  for  its  absorp- 


188  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

tion.  It  is  no  more  typical  of  China  than  our  metropoli- 
tan slums  are  really  typical  of  American  life.  True,  they 
are  the  result  of  it,  but  where  the  rounding  out  of  rela- 
tionships and  conditions  have  been  accomplished  there 
follows  a  graduation  of  elements  to  where  good  and  evil 
obtain  side  by  side.  And  Chinese  City  is  but  the  worst 
phase  of  Chinese  slums  plastered  upon  Shanghai. 


Poverty  in  Chinese  City  is  one  thing;  in  Shanghai 
it  is  another.  It  is  all  a  matter  of  the  background. 
Buddha  the  beggar  is  still  Buddha  the  Prince. 

After  I  came  out  of  Chinese  City  I  took  much  greater 
note  of  the  details  of  the  life  of  the  coolie,  the  toiler  in 
Shanghai  proper.  I  was  out  on  the  Bund.  The  stone 
walls  hemming  in  the  river  Whang-po  rise  at  a  level 
round  the  city.  For  five  feet  more  the  human  wall  of 
coolies  shuts  out  the  tide  of  poverty  and  despair  from 
a  world  as  foreign  to  China  as  water  is  alien  to  stone. 
From  both  walls  a  murmur  reaches  the  outer  world :  the 
swish  of  the  tide,  the  hum  of  coolie  consolation.  I  let 
myself  believe  that  they  chant  beneath  their  burdens  to 
disguise  their  groans.  Up  and  down  the  Bund  they 
course,  here  at  exporting,  there  at  importing.  Their 
gathering-places  are  at  the  godowns,  and  in  and  out 
they  pass  up  and  down  inclined  planks,  each  with  a  sack, 
or  in  couples  with  two  or  more  sacks  hanging  from  their 
shoulders,  never  resting  from  these  rounds. 

At  another  point  they  are  delivering  mail  to  the  ship's 
launch.  Two  cart-loads  arrive.  Coolies  swarm  about 
the  carts,  waiting  for  orders.  Some  are  mere  boys,  but 
already  inured  to  the  tread.  As  each  lifts  a  bag  of  mail 
he  passes  a  Japanese,  who  hands  him  a  stiletto-shaped 
piece  of  wood  with  some  inscription  on  it, — painted  green 
to  the  hilt.  He  takes  two  steps  and  is  on  the  gang- 
plank, two  more,  and  he  has  burdened  himself  with 


CHINA'S  EUKOPEAN  CAPITAL  189 

three  bags  of  mail,  and  returns ;  he  received  and  returns 
three  sticks.  That  is  the  way  count  is  kept  of  the  mail. 
I  couldn't  understand  this  close  precaution.  Could  the 
coolie  possibly  abscond  with  a  bag  of  mail  under  the  very 
eyes  of  an  officer? 

Two  small  boys  eagerly  rushed  a  distance  on,  to  pick 
up  some  bags  that  had  been  left  there.  They  were  acting 
without  order, — spontaneously.  They  would  have  saved 
themselves  some  labor  in  that  way.  But  the  officer  in 
charge  shrieked  his  reprimand  at  them.  One,  in  his 
enthusiasm,  ignored  the  command.  The  officer  rushed 
after  him  and  boxed  his  ears.  The  boy  received  the 
punishment,  but  went  right  ahead  with  his  burden.  Hard- 
ened little  sinner !  calloused  little  soul !  poor  little  ant ! 

One  youngster  came  up,  chanting  the  sale  of  some 
sweet-cakes.  Looking  into  his  face,  I  wondered  what 
he  was  thinking  just  then.  He  must  think!  No  one 
could  be  so  young  and  have  such  a  cramped  neck,  such 
sad  eyes,  such  furrowed  brows  without  hard  thoughts 
to  make  them  so. 

In  the  slush  and  rain,  under  semi-poverty  and  destitu- 
tion, barefoot,  ragged,  and  in  infinite  numbers, — still  they 
toil.  Yet  against  the  background  of  sturdy  Shanghai, 
their  labor  and  their  travail  does  not  hurt  as  much  as 
it  does  in  Chinese  City.  The  perplexities  of  life — 
national,  racial,  of  caste — pervaded  my  thoughts.  Why 
has  China  remained  dormant  so  long?  Why  is  she  now 
waking?  How  will  she  tackle  the  problem  of  poverty? 
To  me  it  seems  that  nations  rise  and  fall  not  because 
fluctuation  is  the  inherent  law  of  life,  but  simply  because 
universally  accepted  glory  and  prestige  are  positions 
generally  paid  for  by  accompanying  poverty  and  disease. 
No  nation  can  dominate  for  a  long  time  with  such  coolie- 
ism  as  that  in  China, 

China  has  standards  all  her  own.  We  come  with  our 
ways  and  claim  superiority.  China  grants  it,  yet  goes 
her  own  way.  And  when  we  see  her  sons  we  like  them, 


190  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

though  we  may  criticize,  condemn,  and  try  to  change 
them.  This  is  the  oneness  of  China  and  the  consensus 
of  opinion  is  that  it  is  lovable.  People  come,  employ 
Chinese  as  servants,  and  try  to  train  them.  They  may 
take  that  which  they  think  you  do  not  need,  carry  out 
their  own  and  not  your  ideas.  You  in  turn  rave  and 
roar,  but  in  the  end  they  are  still  there  as  servants  and 
you  as  master.  But  they  have  educated  you,  you  have 
not  changed  them.  And  when  you  leave  China  you  long 
for  them  as  did  that  American  woman  I  met  in  Honolulu 
who  fairly  wailed  her  longing  aloud  to  me.  China  has 
done  this  with  whole  nations,  and,  to  the  very  end  of 
time,  whatever  nation  sets  out  to  rule  and  conquer  that 
new  republic  must  make  up  its  mind  to  be  lost. 

And  so  behind  Shanghai  is  Chinese  City,  and  behind 
that  there  is  China,  out  upon  the  flat  plains.  There  is 
another  China  yet  beyond,  and  still  another  and  as  many 
as  there  are  billows  on  the  sea.  Build  modern  buildings 
and  cities,  and  the  Chinese  take  them  and  turn  them 
inside  out,  and  they  are  what  he  wants  them  to  be.  This 
plastic  people, — what  is  their  destiny?  And  what,  still, 
is  there  awaiting  the  world  as  they  fulfil  that  destiny? 

How  strange  it  feels  to  call  her  republic!  Yet  China 
has  taken  to  republicanism  as  though  it  had  been  brew- 
ing in  her  these  thousands  of  years.  From  outward 
appearances  one  would  never  know  that  she  is  a  republic 
to-day.  Some  say  she  really  isn't.  Coolies  still  are 
coolies,  and  Chinese,  Chinese.  And  I  dare  say  she  is 
both  empire  and  republic,  two  in  one. 

For  centuries  China  has  lain  dormant  as  though  stung 
by  a  paralyzing  wasp.  Centuries  have  been  lost  in  sleep. 
But  what  are  centuries,  when  waking  is  so  simple  and 
is  always  possible?  China  has  wakened.  She  is  rising. 
An  hour's  work  has  been  accomplished  in  the  first  fresh 
flush  of  the  new  dawn.  Perhaps  that  is  all  that  will  be 
done  that  day,  the  house  put  in  a  little  better  order. 
To-morrow  is  time  enough  for  real  work.  A  Chinese 


CHINA'S  EUROPEAN  CAPITAL  191 

junk  comes  out  of  its  night-mist  retreat  with  its  own  dim 
lights.  A  shrill  whistle  of  a  passing  launch  echoes  across 
the  flat  plains  about  Shanghai.  The  rain  of  yesterday 
remains  only  as  a  sorry  mist.  A  vision  of  clearer  day 
shimmers  through,  but  soon  grows  dull  again.  China 
seems  to  have  shaped  her  climate  in  her  own  image. 

A  two-days'  steam  to  Moji,  Japan,  on  the  bosom  of 
that  heaving  mistress  the  China  Sea,  and  my  journey 
was  over  for  a  long  while.  The  sea  was  black,  the  sky 
somber;  even  the  sun  was  sad  as  it  stooped  that  evening 
to  kiss  the  cheek  of  Japan  good  night.  I  did  not  know 
just  then  that  I  was  to  say  farewell  to  the  sea  for  two 
and  a  half  years, — a  farewell  that  resulted  in  Japan: 
Real  and  Imaginary. 


CHAPTER  XH 

WOULD  CONSCIOUSNESS 

The  Third  Side  of  the  Triangle 

.  .  .  For  surely   once,   they  feel,  we  were 
Parts  of  a  single  continent. 
Now  round  us  spreads  the  watery  plain — 
Oh,  might  our  marges  meet  again! 


I  HAD  gone  out  to  the  Katori-maru  to  inspect  my 
quarters.  I  always  loved  to  get  away  from  shore, 
even  if  only  in  a  launch  or  sampan  -t  it  was  so  much 
cleaner  and  fresher  on  the  bay.  That  afternoon  it  was 
altogether  too  attractive  out  there,  and  the  city  of  Kobe 
lay  so  snugly  below  the  hills  that  I  decided  to  remain  on 
board  till  late  in  the  evening,  and  missed  the  last  launch. 
I  hailed  a  sampan.  In  this,  with  the  wind  splashing  the 
single  sail  and  the  spray  scattering  all  about  us,  we 
slipped  romantically  back  to  the  American  Hatoba.  It 
was  my  last  entrance  to  Kobe. 

All  of  the  next  day  I  kept  changing  trains  and  creep- 
ing over  Japanese  hills  and  rice-fields  in  my  devious  and 
indirect  route  to  Yokohama  by  way  of  Japan's  national 
shrine,  Yamada  Ise.  A  few  days  later  I  was  on  board 
the  Katori-maru,  the  newest  type  of  Japanese  shrine, 
the  modern  commercial  floating  shrine,  named  after  one 
of  the  most  ancient  of  shrines  in  Japan.  The  Katori 
shrine  is  said  to  have  been  founded  some  twenty-five 
hundred  years  ago  during  the  reign  of  the  mythical  first 
emperor,  Jimmu  Tenno.  It  was  dedicated  to  deities  who 
possessed  great  military  skill  and  has  always  been  pat- 
ronized mainly  by  soldiers.  Transferring  shrines  from 
land  to  sea  is  a  hazardous  procedure.  For  me,  however, 

192 


WORLD  CONSCIOUSNESS  193 

I  was  ready  to  give  my  offering  most  willingly  as  long  as 
it  brought  me  to  Seattle.  There  were  too  many  people 
willing  to  patronize  floating  shrines  at  that  time  for  me 
to  be  too  particular  about  deities. 

For  a  moment,  as  we  slipped  away  from  the  pier,  I 
felt  what  a  dying  man  is  said  to  feel  when  the  flash-like 
review  of  life's  experiences  course  through  his  sinking 
consciousness.  I  saw  Japan  and  all  its  valleys,  its  dirt 
and  its  sublimity;  and  with  all  its  past  confusions  I 
loved  it. 

Waiting  for  a  final  glimpse  of  Fuji  left  me  idle  enough 
to  observe  the  little  things  about  me.  There  was,  for 
instance,  the  two-by-two-by-five  sailor  who  was  showing 
two  Japanese  girls  through  the  ''shrine"  he  was  serv- 
ing. I  followed  them  about  the  ship.  He  was  explain- 
ing to  them  various  mysteries. 

The  Sailor:  "Kore  wa  otoko  no  bath.  [This  is  the 
men's  bath.] "  To  the  minds  of  these  Japanese  maidens 
such  a  distinction  was  surprising. 

The  Sailor:  "Kore  wa  second  class.  [This  is  second 
class.]"  This  was  like  treading  on  sacred  ground  to 
these  lowly  born  mites. 

The  Sailor:  "Kore  wa  kitsu  en  shitsu.  [This  is  the 
smoking-room.]"  Why  a  special  room  for  so  simple 
a  service — and  why  men  only? 

He  led  them  above  to  the  hospital.  He  never  made 
any  comments,  they  asked  him  no  questions,  but  followed, 
single  file,  as  is  proper  for  Japanese  girls,  agape  with 
curiosity.  They  passed  the  life-saving  equipment.  A 
tiny  voice  ventured  a  question.  An  amazed  member  of 
the  Japanese  Government  (it  was  a  government  sub- 
sidized vessel)  said,  with  semi-scorn: 

"Korewa?    Boat.     [This?    Boat.]11    And  they  went 

below. 

2 

All  of  that  forenoon,  waiting  for  the  Katori-maru  to 
slip  away  from  the  pier,  I  watched  for  Fujiyama,  that 


194  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

exquisite  pyramid  (to  the  summit  of  which  I  had  climbed 
twice),  but  it  was  veiled  in  mist.  I  wanted  to  see  what  it 
looked  like  from  the  sea,  just  as  I  had  seen  what  the  sea 
and  the  universe  looked  like  from  its  peak.  All  afternoon, 
as  Japan  was  receding  into  the  past,  I  tried  to  distinguish 
old  Fuji,  but  there  was  only  a  glittering  edge,  like  a 
sword,  beneath  the  low,  bright  sun.  After  dinner  I  went 
on  deck  and  there  in  all  that  simple  splendor  which  has 
made  it  the  wonder  of  the  world,  stood  Fujiyama,  with  a 
soft,  sunset  glow  beneath  its  peak.  The  symbolic  sword 
had  vanished.  And  I  felt  that  in  all  those  years  and 
miles  and  space  which  gather  in  my  memory  as  that 
single  thing — the  Pacific  Ocean — nothing  transcends  in 
loveliness  the  last  view  of  Fuji  from  the  sea. 

Then  for  two  days  the  world  seemed  to  swoon  in  mist. 
The  fog-horn  kept  blowing  drearily  every  two  minutes; 
yet  the  steamer  never  slackened  its  speed  for  a  moment ; 
in  fact,  we  made  more  miles  those  two  days  than  during 
the  clear  days  that  followed.  We  had  taken  the  extreme 
northern  route  and  were  soon  in  a  cold  latitude.  The 
fog  became  crisp,  as  though  threatening  to  crystallize, 
and  when  I  stood  on  the  forward  deck  it  was  almost  like 
being  out  in  a  blizzard.  The  siren  continued  to  emit  its 
melancholy  wail  across  a  wilderness  of  waves  lost  in 
mist.  One  could  not  see  the  length  of  the  ship.  At  mid- 
night I  woke,  startled  by  the  sudden  cessation  of  the 
propellers.  For  three  hours  we  were  stationary,  owing 
to  engine  trouble.  The  steamer  barely  rocked,  giving 
me  the  sensation  of  the  deep  as  nothing  ever  did  before. 
It  was  at  once  weird  and  lovely,  and  in  the  darkness  I 
could  imagine  our  vessel  as  lone  and  isolated,  a  thing  lost 
in  an  open  wilderness  of  space.  The  siren  continued 
moaning  like  the  wail  of  a  child  in  the  night,  and  once  I 
thought  I  heard  another  siren  off  in  the  distance.  We 
started  off  again  and  from  then  on  didn't  once  slacken 
our  speed  in  the  least,  so  large,  so  spacious,  so  unfre- 
quented is  the  Pacific  in  these  days. 


WORLD  CONSCIOUSNESS  195 

The  fog  hung  close  for  so  many  days  that  a  rumor 
went  round  that  the  captain  was  unable  to  get  his  bear- 
ings. With  neither  sun  nor  stars  to  rely  on  men's  best 
instruments  are  altogether  inadequate.  At  half-past 
nine  o'clock  one  evening,  however,  the  steel  blinds  were 
closed  over  the  port-holes.  The  ship  began  to  pitch  and 
roll.  The  waves  rushed  at  us  and  broke  against  the 
iron  cheek  of  the  vessel.  The  fittings  on  deck  rolled  back 
and  forth,  and  those  passengers  unused  to  the  sea  clung 
to  their  berths. 

Only  when  we  were  within  three  days  of  the  American 
coast  did  the  sun  come  out.  For  over  a  week  we  had 
been  in  a  dull-gray  world  which  was  becoming  terribly 
depressing.  We  were  considerably  farther  north  than 
I  had  expected  to  be. 

Five  days  after  our  departure,  I  was  again  at  the 
180th  meridian,  and  enjoyed  what  only  a  very  eager, 
active  person  could  enjoy, — a  forty-eight-hour  day.  This 
time,  going  eastward,  we  gained  a  day.  I  also  had  the 
pleasure  of  being  within  fifty  degrees  of  the  north  pole 
just  as  three  years  before  I  had  been  within  fifty  degrees 
of  the  south  pole.  In  other  words,  I  had  touched  two 
points  along  the  180th  meridian  which  were  six  thousand 
miles  away  from  each  other,  or  twice  the  distance  from 
New  York  to  San  Francisco. 

Calculations  are  somewhat  misleading  at  times.  For 
instance,  when  we  were  near  the  Aleutian  Islands,  I 
chanced  to  compare  the  records  of  that  day's  run  as 
posted  in  the  first  saloon  with  those  posted  in  the  second 
saloon.  The  first  read  4,240  miles  from  Yokohama;  the 
second,  4,235  miles.  Japanese  handling  of  figures  made 
the  prow  of  the  ship  five  miles  nearer  its  destination 
than  the  stern.  Japanese  historians  also  have  a  ten- 
dency to  make  such  innocent  mistakes  in  their  imperial- 
istic calculations.  Japan's  feet  do  not  seem  to  be  able 
to  keep  pace  with  her  desires. 

As  though  to  investigate  this  phenomenon,  a  little 


196  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

bird, — slightly  larger  than  a  sparrow,  with  the  same  kind 
of  feathered  back,  but  with  a  white  breast,  flitted  down 
upon  the  deck  before  me, — and  began  hopping  about.  It 
approached  to  within  two  feet  of  me,  then  sneaked  into 
a  warm  place  out  of  sight.  A  stowaway  from  birdland, 
stealing  a  ride  and  planning,  most  likely,  to  enter 
America  without  a  passport.  Perhaps  it  thought  that 
being  near  the  stern  of  the  boat,  according  to  the  calcu- 
lations above  quoted,  it  could  still  remain  beyond  the 
three-mile  limit. 

Then  the  homeward-bound  spirit  took  possession  of 
me, — that  selfsame  realization  of  my  direction  which 
had  come  over  me  upon  sight  of  the  Australian  coast  three 
years  previously,  a  psychological  twisting  which  baffled 
me  for  a  time.  Another  day  and  we  were  within  the 
last  square  marked  off  by  the  latitudinal  and  longitudinal 
lines, — the  nearest  I  had  been  to  America  in  nearly  five 
years.  To  remind  me  of  my  wanderings,  the  flags  of 
the  nations  hung  in  the  dining-saloon :  under  nearly  every 
one  of  them  I  had  at  some  time  found  hospitality. 


The  reader  who  has  followed  me  thus  far  has  been  with 
me  about  three  months  on  the  sea.  What  to  the  Greeks 
and  the  Romans  was  the  Mediterranean,  the  Pacific  will 
be  to  us  seventy  times  over.  Already  there  is  a  wealth 
of  literature  and  of  science  which  has  come  to  us  through 
the  inspiration  of  that  great  waterway.  For  Darwin 
and  Stevenson  and  O'Brien  the  Pacific  has  been  mother 
of  their  finest  passions.  In  the  near  future,  our  argosies 
will  cross  and  recross  those  tens  of  thousands  of  miles 
as  numerously  as  those  of  the  Phrenicians  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean in  antiquity.  They  will  bring  us  back  the  teas  and 
spices  and  silks  of  the  Orient.  But  there  are  those  of  us 
who  have  watched  the  " White  Shadows"  of  the  Pacific 
who  would  wish  that  something  were  brought  away  be- 


WORLD  CONSCIOUSNESS  197 

sides  the  ephemeral  materials.  For  there  is  in  the  sea 
a  kinship  with  the  infinite  and  the  absolute,  and  who 
studies  its  moods  comes  nearer  understanding  life. 

I  wandered  along  one  night  with  a  New  Zealand  man, 
without  knowing  where  he  was  leading  me.  Suddenly 
we  came,  by  way  of  a  narrow  pathway,  against  a  wall  of 
darkness.  We  were  at  the  seashore.  It  was  as  though 
we  had  come  to  the  world's  end  and  the  white  glistening 
breakers  arrived  as  messengers  from  eternity,  warning 
us  against  venturing  farther.  I  strained  my  eyes  to  see 
into  that  pitch-black  gulch,  but  I  might  just  as  well  have 
shut  my  eyes  and  let  the  persistent  breakers  tell  the 
story  of  the  sea  in  their  own  way.  Afterward  I  often 
made  my  way  out  to  that  beach  and  sat  for  hours,  or 
trod  the  sands  till  night  left  of  the  sea  nothing  but  mourn- 
ful whisperings. 

One  day  in  August,  when  the  first  snow  fell  over  our 
little  winter  world  in  the  far  South,  I  had  climbed  the 
hills  up  to  the  belt  of  wildwood  that  girds  the  city  of 
Dunedin.  The  very  joy  of  life  was  in  the  air.  Keenly 
I  sensed  the  larger  season, — that  of  human  kinship 
merged  in  the  centuries.  I  looked  across  the  hills  to 
mountains  I  had  known;  but  it  was  then  not  the  Alps 
I  saw,  not  the  Rockies,  the  Aeta  Roa  under  the  Southern 
Cross,  nor  yet  the  Himalayas  nor  the  snow-packed  bar- 
riers of  the  Uriankhai,  the  unrenowned  Turgan  group. 
In  truth,  I  was  not  seeing  impassable  peaks  at  all,  but 
imprisoned  ranges  which  were  themselves  trying  to  out- 
reach their  altitudinal  limitations.  It  was  a  world  con- 
sciousness which  was  mine,  and  I  towered  far  above  the 
highest  peaks,  above  the  world  itself.  I  saw  no  single 
group,  no  political  sections  nor  geographical  divisions, 
the  conquest  of  ridges,  the  commingling  of  noises,  the 
concord  of  peoples.  And  when  men  come  to  this  world 
consciousness  they  will  recognize  and  accept  all,  include 
the  barrier  and  the  plain.  They  will  see  these  great, 
sheer  rugged  peaks  knifing  the  floating  clouds,  yielding 


198  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

to  the  creeping  glaciers,  yet  one  and  all,  when  released 
sweeping  down  the  valleys  as  impassioned  rivers,  filling 
the  lowest  depths  of  earth,  depths  deeper  than  the  sea, 
lower  than  the  deserts.  In  such  moments  of  world  con- 
sciousness men  will  have  to  step  downward  from  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea  and  upward  from  the  summit  of  McKinley. 
Then  barriers  will  become  beacons.  Mankind  lives 
at  sea-level.  We  care  little  about  our  neighbors  over 
the  ranges.  That  mental  attitude  makes  barriers  real 
and  valleys  dark.  But  when  we  turn  them  into  bea- 
cons we  shall  climb  the  barriers  in  order  to  look  into  the 
valleys  of  our  neighbors  and  they  will  become  the  ladders 
of  heaven  and  the  light  unto  nations.  That  is  the  lesson 
of  the  sea. 

At  present  we  live  at  a  sea-level,  but  beneath  and  be- 
hind the  barriers,  are  the  peaks  of  earth.  Hence  walls  of 
houses  are  as  great  barriers  as  mountains.  Hence  even 
thoughts  are  barriers  and  ideals  become  terrible,  cold, 
insurmountable  prominences. 

But  in  world  consciousness,  which  is  the  lesson  of  the 
sea,  we  do  not  reject  anything, — the  religions,  the  politi- 
cal parties,  the  anti-religions,  and  the  negations, — but  we 
bring  them  to  the  level  of  human  understanding  by 
absorption,  by  taking  them  in.  That  is  the  story  of 
the  sea. 

The  ocean  breaks  incessantly  before  us,  but  only  the 
one  majestic  wave  thrills  as  it  rises  and  overleaps  the 
rocky  barrier.  A  forest  is  densely  grown,  yet  only  the 
stately,  beautiful  tree  stirs  the  forest-lover.  The  street 
swarms  with  human  beings  all  of  whom  are  material  for 
the  friend-maker,  yet  only  one  of  the  mass,  in  passing, 
steeps  the  day's  experience  in  the  essence  of  love.  But 
loving  that  one  wave,  or  tree,  or  being  does  not  shut  us 
against  the  source  of  its  becoming ;  rather  does  it  teach 
us  the  possibilities  latent  in  the  mass.  That  is  the  moral 
of  the  sea. 

But  what  is  the  seat    How  can  we  know  the  sea?    Is 


WOBLD  CONSCIOUSNESS  199 

it  water,  space,  depth?  Can  we  measure  it  in  miles,  in 
the  days  required  to  traverse  it,  in  steamship  lines,  by 
the  turning  of  the  screws,  or  by  the  system  of  the  fourth 
dimension?  To  me  who  have  been  round  the  greatest 
sea  on  earth  comes  the  realization  that  I  have  seen  only 
a  narrow  line  of  it,  and  that  I  can  only  believe  that  the 
rest  is  what  it  has  been  said  to  be.  Yet  my  faith  is 
founded  on  my  knowledge  of  the  faithfulness  of  the  sea. 

The  sea,  we  sometimes  say,  has  its  moods,  but  rather 
should  they  be  called  enthusiasms.  It  is  really  not  the 
sea  at  all  to  which  we  refer,  but  to  something  which  in 
the  vague  world  of  infinitude  is  in  itself  a  sea  whipping 
the  surface  of  an  unfathomable  wonder.  The  sea's 
moods  are  not  in  its  breakers,  any  more  than  is  the  sur- 
face phenomenon  which  floors  the  region  between  our 
atmosphere  and  ether,  the  story  of  our  earth.  We  can- 
not reach  down  beneath  the  breakers  and  learn  the  secret 
of  the  heart  of  the  sea.  In  ourselves,  as  in  the  sea,  we 
obtain  a  record  of  that  tremendous  silence  which  is  the 
harbinger  of  all  sound,  as  the  heavens  are  of  all  color. 

One  day  in  New  Zealand  I  witnessed  a  conflict  between 
the  earth  and  the  sea.  A  tremendous  wind  swept  north- 
westward, and  pressed  heavily  down  upon  the  shore.  It 
sent  the  sand  scurrying  back  into  the  sea.  Even  the 
breakers,  like  the  sand,  fell  back  in  furious  spray  like 
the  waves  of  sea-horses, — back  into  the  ocean.  The  en- 
tire length  of  the  beach  for  three  miles  was  alive  with 
retreating  spray,  mingled  with  the  bewildered  sand- 
legions  scurrying  at  my  ankles. 

One  night,  on  the  shores  of  Otago  Harbor,  the  moon, 
blasted  and  blunted  by  heavy  clouds,  had  started  on  its 
journey.  In  a  little  cave  huddled  a  cloud  of  black  night. 
We  had  spread  the  faithful  embers  of  our  camp  fire  so 
they  could  not  touch  one  another,  and  wanting  touch  they 
died  in  the  darkness.  We  had  put  the  curse  of  loneliness 
upon  each  of  them.  The  little  cave  had  become  only  a 
darker  spot  on  a  dark  landscape, — a  landscape  so  rough, 


200  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

so  rare  and  rugged,  reaching  the  sea  and  the  western  sky 
of  night.  So  rough,  so  unformed,  so  uncompleted.  The 
maker  of  lands  was  beating  against  it  impatiently,  rush- 
ing it,  forming  it.  What  uncanny  projections,  what 
sandy  cliffs!  For  ages  the  wind  and  sea  have  been 
whipping  them  into  shape.  Yet  man  could  remove  them 
with  a  blast  or  two.  For  thousands  of  miles,  all  round 
the  rim  of  the  great  Pacific,  the  same  process  is  going 
on,  day  and  night.  While  upon  land,  man  has  con- 
tinued working  out  his  mission  in  the  same  persistent, 
unconscious  manner. 

0  Maker  of  lands*  ends,  0  Sea,  when  will  man  be 
formed?  When  will  the  conflicts  among  men  cease? 
They  have  tried  to  curb  one  another  and  to  subject  one 
another  to  slavish  uses,  even  and  kempt.  But  still, 
after  ages  of  whipping  and  lashing,  they  are  still  unfin- 
ished as  though  never  to  be  formed.  Are  the  various 
little  groups  which  lie  so  far  apart,  scattered  by  some 
ancient  camper,  to  die  for  want  of  the  touch  of  com- 
rade, like  those  embers  in  the  darkness  of  that  empty 
cavelet! 

Here  round  the  Pacific  we  dwell,  each  in  his  own  little 
hollow.  May  not  this  vast,  generous  ocean  become  the 
great  experiment  station  for  human  commonalty,  for  dis- 
tinction without  extinction?  The  dreams  that  centered 
in  the  other  great  seas — the  Mediterranean,  the  Atlantic 
— were  only  partially  fulfilled.  But  here  at  the  point 
where  East  is  West,  it  ought  to  be  possible,  because  of 
the  very  obvious  differences,  to  maintain  relations  with- 
out irritating  encroachment.  There  was  a  time  when  pas- 
sionate desire  justified  a  man  taking  a  woman  from  an- 
other with  the  aid  of  a  club.  To-day  the  decent  man  knows 
that  however  much  he  may  love,  only  mutual  consent 
makes  relationship  possible.  And  from  the  frenzy  of  un- 
tutored souls  let  those  who  feel  repugnance  withdraw  till 


WORLD  CONSCIOUSNESS  201 

the  force  of  a  higher  morality  makes  the  rest  of  the  world 
follow  in  its  wake. 

.  .  .  now  I  only  hear 

Its  melancholy,  long,  withdrawing  roar, 

Retreating  to  the  breath 

Of  the  night-wind  down  the  vast  edges  drear 

And  naked  shingles  of  the  world. 

Ah,  love,  let  us  be  true 

To  one  another!  for  the  world,  which  seems 

To  lie  before  us  like  a  land  of  dreams, 

So  various,  so  beautiful,  so  new, 

Hath  really  neither  joy,  nor  love  nor  light, 

Nor  certitude,  nor  peace,  nor  help  for  pain: 

And  we  are  here  as  on  a  darkling  plain 

Swept  with  confused  alarms  of  struggle  and  flight, 

Where  ignorant  armies  clash  by  night. 


BOOK  TWO 

DISCUSSION  OF  NATIVE  PROBLEMS 
—PERSONAL  AND  SOCIAL 


CHAPTER  XIII 

EXIT  THE  NOBLE  SAVAGE 


TO  the  primitive  or  simple  races  of  the  world  mar- 
riage, divorce,  and  supply  of  only  the  elemental 
wants  are  the  most  intense  problems.  Nourishment  and 
reproduction  make  up  the  rounds  of  life.  While  the 
highly  developed  nations  around  the  Pacific  are  con- 
cerned with  the  exploitation  of  the  resources  of  the  is- 
lands, and  with  political  problems  growing  out  of  their 
reciprocal  interests,  the  natives  are  struggling  with  mat- 
ters that  lie  nearer  the  real  foundations  of  life.  For 
them  the  question  of  survival  is  an  immediate  and  press- 
ing one.  Extinction  is  facing  many  of  them,  absorption 
by  inflowing  races  is  creating  altogether  new  difficulties 
and  relationships,  such  as  marriage  and  divorce,  while 
newer  conceptions  of  exchange  and  trade,  the  buying  and 
selling  of  meats  and  vegetables,  are  introducing  social 
and  moral  factors  they  could  not  as  yet  be  expected  to  un- 
derstand. Nor  can  we  who  have  thrust  ourselves  upon 
them  or  accepted  responsibility  for  their  well-being  un- 
derstand our  obligations  unless  we  think  of  them  as 
human  beings,  or  without  visualizing  their  problems  by 
human  examples.  Nor  can  we  escape  these  responsibili- 
ties or  shirk  them.  Out  of  the  stuff  their  lives  are  made 
of  grow  the  larger  problems,  those  of  the  relationship  of 
the  great  civilizations  that  touch  each  other  on  the  Pacific 
— Asia,  Australasia,  America. 

Threnodies  and  elegies  a-plenty  have  mourned  the 
passing  of  the  Polynesians  of  the  South  Seas.  The  noble 
savage  whose  average  height  often  measured  six  feet — 

205 


206  THE  PACIFIC  TBIANGLE 

plus  thick  callouses — has  stalked  among  us,  as  a  myth- 
ical figure,  maidens  unabashed  in  their  naked  loveli- 
ness have  lured  men  to  the  tropics  oblivious  of  home  ties. 
Leisure  and  unlimited  harems  in  prospect  have  afforded 
many  a  civilized  man  salacious  joys  the  like  of  which 
the  white  race  has  not  altogether  abandoned,  but  which 
few  have  the  courage  to  pursue  in  the  open.  The  pass- 
ing of  these  Pacific  peoples  has  in  some  quarters  been 
hailed  as  an  indication  of  the  viciousness  of  civilization ; 
their  yielding  to  virtue  has  been  deplored  by  others. 
The  sentimentalist  has  clothed  them  in  romance;  the 
cynic  has  stuck  horns  in  their  brows.  But  whether  the 
romancer  is  wrong  or  the  missionary  devoid  of  appre- 
ciation of  nature  unadorned,  the  passing  of  the  Polyne- 
sian is  an  admitted  danger.  Whether  it  was  the  vice 
of  the  drunken  sailor  or  the  clothes  of  the  devout  disciple 
that  brought  about  this  downfall  shall  not  here  be  deter- 
mined. It  will  be  mine  merely  to  depict  in  living  examples 
the  episodes  that  indicate  their  evanescence,  and  to  point 
to  the  silent  forces  of  regeneration  that  are  at  work, — 
forces  that,  having  accomplished  the  virtual  decease  of 
some  of  the  finest  races  in  the  world,  and  yet  are  bring- 
ing about  their  rebirth. 

One  cannot  live  in  the  tropics  without  romancing. 
The  simplicity,  the  earnestness  of  life,  devoid  of  many 
of  the  outer  signs  of  avarice  so  consonant  with  the  indi- 
vidualism of  our  civilization;  the  slovenliness  unham- 
pered by  too  many  clothes, — these  take  one  by  a  storm  of 
pleasure.  One  forgets  the  natives  once  were  canni- 
bals; or  rather,  one  delights  in  saying  to  oneself  "they 
were,"  and  forgets  to  thank  the  missionary  and  the 
trader  for  having  altered  these  tastes  before  one  arrived ; 
one  exalts  every  sprawling1  female  into  a  symbol  of 
naturalness,  though  Heaven  knows  the  soft  white  skins 
and  hidden  bosoms  of  the  North  come  as  welcome 
reminders  in  face  of  native  temptations.  And  with 
Professor  Brown  of  New  Zealand,  one  deplores  that  the 


EXIT  THE  NOBLE  SAVAGE  207 

selfsame  missionaries  and  traders  "in  spite  of  their  an- 
tipodal purposes  and  methods,  alike  force  the  race  to 
decay."  Their  contract  with  the  white  race  is  demoraliz- 
ing even  where  it  aims  to  be  most  just  and  helpful.  Their 
lands,  made  secure  to  them  by  legislation  (as  in  New  Zea- 
land), often  become  the  means  of  gratifying  wild  tastes 
for  motor-cars  and  fineries  which  leave  them  bankrupt 
physically  and  morally. 


It  was  a  steaming  day.  I  had  been  up  from  before 
dawn  in  order  to  make  my  pilgrimage  to  Vailima.  Half 
the  morning  was  not  yet  gone  when  I  returned  to  the 
little  hotel  in  Apia,  situated  beside  the  reefs,  to  hide 
myself  away  from  the  burning  sun.  Even  within  the 
shade  of  the  upper  veranda  my  flesh  squirmed  beneath 
my  shirt  and  the  shoes  upon  my  feet  became  unbearable. 
So  off  went  my  shoes.  Nothing  merely  romantic  could 
have  induced  me  to  crawl  from  under  the  shadows.  There 
I  was  content  to  listen  to  the  lapping  of  the  broken  waves 
as  they  washed  shoreward  over  the  reefs.  There  I 
inhaled  the  scent  of  tropical  vegetation  as  it  reached  me, 
tempered  and  sifted  to  the  satisfaction  of  one  who  dreads 
the  sun  and  its  overweening  brilliance. 

Suddenly  a  wail  lanced  the  silence.  It  sounded  for  all 
the  world  like  the  melancholy  " extra"  which  New  York 
newsboys  cry  through  the  side  streets  when  they  wish 
to  make  a  fire  the  concern  of  the  world.  I  sprang  up  and, 
leaning  over  the  veranda  rail,  strained  my  neck  in  the 
direction  of  the  crier,  who  was  still  behind  the  bend  in 
the  road  which  is  Apia's  Main  Street.  It  seemed  to 
take  him  an  unconscionable  time  to  come  into  view,  his 
voice  approaching  and  receding,  and  being  battologized 
as  though  by  a  hundred  megaphones.  Prancing,  crouch- 
ing, and  shading  his  eyes  in  the  manner  of  an  Amerin- 
dian scout,  he  finally  made  his  appearance, — a  grotesque 
fiend,  one  to  strike  terror  to  the  heart  of  a  god.  His 


208  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

oiled  body  glistened  in  the  sun;  his  charcoal-blackened 
jaw  resembled  that  of  a  gorilla;  while  a  scarlet  turban 
of  cheese-cloth  wound  after  the  fashion  of  the  Hindu 
gave  flaming  finish  to  this  frightful  impersonation  of  the 
devil.  Nothing  but  the  presence  of  the  army  of  occupa- 
tion and  the  Encounter  out  in  the  harbor  could  have 
allayed  my  apprehension,  not  even  the  vanity  of  racial 
superiority  or  the  oft-repeated  prophecies  about  this 
vanishing  race.  For  he  seemed  savagery  come  to  life. 

Presently  four  others,  similar  personifications  of  dev- 
iltry, came  on  behind  him.  In  addition  to  make-up, 
each  brandished  a  long  knife  used  for  cutting  sugar-cane, 
or  a  clumsy  ax.  They  squatted,  they  jumped,  whirling 
their  weapons  in  beavy  blows  at  imagined  enemies.  Never 
was  make-believe  played  with  greater  conviction,  never 
was  the  wish  father  to  the  act  with  more  pathetic  earnest- 
ness. The  pitcher  of  a  chosen  nine  never  hurled  his  ball 
across  an  empty  field  with  greater  determination  to  win 
the  coming  game  than  did  these  warless  warriors  wield 
their  weapons. 

Slowly  from  the  rear  came  the  army,  four  abreast, 
in  stately  procession.  There  were  seventy-five  Samoans, 
each  over  six  feet  tall,  men  of  girth  and  bone  and  pride. 
Their  glistening  bodies  reflected  the  sun  like  a  heaving 
sea.  Their  loins  were  draped  in  leaves  in  place  of  the 
every-day  sulu,  with  girdles  of  pink  tissue  paper  round 
them.  Their  faces,  too,  were  blackened  with  charcoal, 
and  turbans  of  red  cheese-cloth  capped  them.  Those  of 
them  who  could  not  secure  knives  or  axes,  wielded  sticks 
with  threatening  realism. 

In  an  instant  I  was  in  my  shoes  again  and  out  upon  the 
road,  a  bit  of  flotsam  in  the  wake  of  a  great  pageant. 

I  fell  in  with  a  Samoan  policeman,  dressed  like  an 
English  Bobby,  trailing  along  in  the  rear.  "What  's  the 
trouble?"  I  asked.  "Is  this  a  preliminary  uprising?" 
There  was  much  talk  of  the  Germans  stirring  the  natives 
to  rebellion  against  British  occupation,  but  evidently  the 


EXIT  THE  NOBLE  SAVAGE  209 

natives  had  had  enough  of  alien  squabbles,  and  it  seemed 
to  matter  little  to  them  by  which  of  the  white  invaders 
they  were  ruled.  A  strange  expression  came  into  the 
policeman's  face,  a  mixture  of  awe  and  contempt.  He 
could  speak  only  a  very  scant  amount  of  English,  but 
enough  to  unlock  this  awe-inspiring  secret.  "Tamasese, 
the  king  he  dead,"  he  said.  I  fumbled  about  in  my  mem- 
ory for  coincidences.  The  policeman  was  old  enough  to 
have  been  an  understanding  boy  at  the  time  Stevenson 
took  up  the  cause  of  Mataafa  as  opposed  to  the  German 
interests  and  antagonistic  even  to  the  British  and  Ameri- 
can attitude.  It  must  have  been  strange  to  him,  there- 
fore, to  find  himself  a  British  policeman  in  a  uniform  of 
blue,  with  a  heavy  helmet,  timidly  following  a  funeral 
procession  in  honor  of  the  son  of  a  king  disfavored  of 
Stevenson, — while  all  about  were  the  soldiers  of  New  Zea- 
land. I  got  nothing  from  him  of  any  political  significance, 
but  much  in  the  way  of  the  spirit  of  his  race.  For  though 
an  officer  of  "the"  law,  perhaps  the  only  one  of  his  kind 
in  Samoa,  he  dared  not  go  too  close  to  the  ranks  of  these 
stalwarts.  They  had  come  from  every  islet  of  the  Samoan 
group,  the  pick  of  the  race,  representatives  declaring  be- 
fore the  whole  world :  Our  race  is  not  dead ;.  long  live  our 
race! 

So,  all  along  the  way  for  over  a  mile  into  the  country 
behind  Apia,  continued  the  procession.  Not  for  a  mo- 
ment did  the  antics  cease ;  not  for  a  moment  did  the  wail 
of  the  warriors  subside.  Every  time  the  advance  scouts 
called  out,  "0-o-o-o-s-o-o-o"  [The  king  is  dead],  the 
four  behind  him  thundered  their  denial,  "E  sa"  [Long 
live  the  king],  and  the  entire  regiment  droned  the  con- 
fession "0  so."  For  the  king  was  truly  no  more.  Not 
only  the  king  but  his  kingdom.  For  not  only  was  there 
now  no  struggle  of  aliens  over  its  precincts,  but  the 
second  conqueror,  Britain,  who  once  did  not  think  Samoa 
worthy  as  spoils,  had  stepped  in  and  taken  possession. 

The  procession  filled  the  native  population  with  awe. 


210  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

No  one  ventured  near.  A  dog  ran  across  the  road  and 
was  immediately  cut  down  by  the  sugar-cane  knife  in 
a  warrior's  hand.  A  Chinese,  with  the  contempt  of  the 
fanatic  for  the  fanaticism  of  others,  drove  his  cart  indif- 
ferently into  their  line.  Knives,  axes,  and  other  bor- 
rowed, stolen,  or  improvised  weapons  found  their  way 
into  the  chariot  of  the  Celestial. 

Half-way  along,  a  limping  old  man  whose  leg  was 
swollen  with  elephantiasis  advanced  against  them.  He 
challenged  their  approach.  They  cut  the  air  with  furi- 
ous blows  aimed  in  his  direction.  He  pretended  to  fall, 
in  the  manner  of  a  Russian  dancer,  picked  himself  up  and 
started  on  a  wild  retreat.  The  army  had  routed  an 
enemy. 

Here  the  roadside  spread  in  open  land  dotted  every- 
where with  native  huts.  Presently  the  army  arrived 
at  the  king's  grounds,  where  a  simple  hut  sat  back  about 
two  hundred  feet  from  the  road,  with  a  bit  of  green 
before  it.  The  army  broke  "rank,"  and  squatted  in  a 
double  row  just  at  the  side  of  the  road.  For  a  few  min- 
utes there  was  silence. 

Then  out  of  the  group  rose  Mali,  the  leader.  Silently 
he  strode  the  full  width  of  the  space  in  front  of  the  thirty 
seated  men,  leaning  lightly  upon  the  long  rough  stick 
in  his  hand.  His  giant-like  figure  was  the  personifica- 
tion of  dignity;  his  roughened  face  the  acme  of  sobriety; 
he  seemed  lost  in  thought.  Facing  about,  he  started  to 
retrace  his  steps  in  front  of  the  seated  men,  then,  as 
though  suddenly  recollecting  himself,  turned  his  head 
in  the  direction  of  the  king's  hut  and  in  a  subdued  tone 
no  higher  than  that  in  ordinary  conversation,  addressed 
the  house  of  Tamasese,  which  stood  fully  half  a  block 
away.  Quietly,  but  not  without  emotion,  he  spoke  and 
paused ;  and  every  time  he  paused  the  leading  four  men 
would  shout  "0-o-o-s-o-o,"  and  the  entire  group  would 
answer  "0  sa."  Convincing  and  convinced,  the  leader 


EXIT  THE  NOBLE  SAVAGE  211 

proceeded  with  his  oration.  An  hour  later,  to  the  min- 
ute, he  finished. 

At  the  king's  house  appeared  an  old  man  in  a  snow- 
white  sulu,  leaning  heavily  on  a  stick.  I  could  see  his 
lips  moving,  but  could  not  hear  a  word.  He  was  speak- 
ing to  the  leader,  who  could  not  hear  any  more  than  I. 
They  kept  up  the  pretense  at  conversation  for  a  few 
minutes  and  all  was  agreed  upon.  A  servant,  who  had 
followed  the  old  man  with  a  soft  mat  in  his  hand  which 
to  me  looked  like  silk,  advanced  cautiously  toward  the 
warriors. 

Two  of  them  jumped  instantly  to  their  feet,  brandish- 
ing their  knife  and  ax  furiously  as  though  to  protect  the 
leader  or  to  drive  away  evil  spirits,  I  knew  not  which. 
But  certain  it  was  the  cautious  servant  became  still  more 
cautious,  timidly  arriving  with  his  offering  and  present- 
ing it  to  the  chief.  The  manner  in  which  the  gift  was 
accepted,  though  solemn  enough,  was  full  of  admonition, 
much  as  to  say:  "Now,  don't  you  do  that  again."  The 
mat-bearer's  heart  seemed  relieved  of  a  great  terror, 
and  he  started  back  to  the  house  of  the  king.  On  his 
way  he  passed  a  mango-tree,  stopped,  looked  up  as 
though  he  had  spied  an  evil  spirit,  picked  up  a  mango, 
stepped  back,  and  dramatically  hurled  it  at  the  tree  as 
a  boy  would  who  was  playing  make-believe.  At  that  the 
whole  army  of  stalwarts  rose  and  departed  to  the  right. 

As  soon  as  they  left  the  grounds,  eleven  girls,  in  single 
file,  each  with  a  mat  of  the  loveliest  texture  imaginable 
flung  to  the  breeze,  came  out  upon  the  road  from  the 
other  side  of  the  grounds  and  followed  round  the  front 
to  the  right  after  the  way  of  the  warriors.  And  the 
ceremony  was  over. 

I  had  squatted  on  the  ground,  close  to  the  warriors. 
They  treated  me  as  though  I  were  an  innocent  child  who 
did  not  know  the  dangers  of  evil  things,  nor  enough  to 
respect  my  superiors.  Not  so  the  natives.  Even  the 
policeman  with  whom  I  had  arrived  had  retreated  to  the 


212  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

protection  of  a  hut  some  three  hundred  feet  away  from 
the  road.  All  the  people  in  the  neighborhood — men, 
women  and  children — kept  within  their  own  huts,  their 
solemn  faces  full  of  awe  and  respect.  Nor  did  the  ten- 
sion slacken  until  the  last  of  the  maidens  had  made  her 
way  out  of  sight. 

Thus  was  the  son  of  the  last  Samoan  king  escorted  in 
safety  along  the  other  way, — a  way  which  to  the  native 
mind  seemed  as  vivid  and  real  as  heaven  and  hell  were 
to  Dante  and  Swedenborg. 


Exit  the  Noble  Savage.  " Think,"  says  Bancroft, 
spokesman  of  the  arrogant  " Blond  Beast,"  "what  it 
would  mean  to  civilization  if  all  these  worthless  primi- 
tives were  to  pass  away  before  us."  The  beginning  of 
this  end  was  witnessed  and  told  by  Stevenson  in  1892, 
but  the  natives'  version  of  it  has  yet  to  be  related. 
Against  those  who  mourn  his  loss  as  the  Hellenist  the 
Greeks,  are  some  of  our  most  practical  men. 

The  Samoans  are  not  vanishing  as  rapidly  as  are  the 
Hawaiians  and  the  Maories,  for  two  very  simple  reasons : 
their  climate  is  not  so  suitable  to  the  white  man  as  is 
that  of  New  Zealand  and  of  Hawaii.  Nor,  like  Fiji,  has 
Samoa  been  hampered  by  indentured  coolieism,  though 
Chinese  do  come.  Racially  there  seems  no  immediate 
prospect  of  Samoa  being  submerged,  though  politically 
it  fell  before  Hawaii  did.  Socially,  however,  it  is  going, 
as  are  the  native  features  of  most  of  the  more  progres- 
sive and  more  assimilable  peoples  of  the  Pacific. 

Simple  naturalness  is  fast  fading  even  from  Samoa. 
I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  because  Samoans  are  drifting 
farther  and  farther  from  their  primitive  customs  they 
are  losing  their  "charm."  With  progress,  one  expects 
not  oddity,  but  simplicity;  not  shiftlessness,  but  a  cer- 
tain tightening  up  of  the  finer  fibers  of  the  race.  It  is 


EXIT  THE  NOBLE  SAVAGE  213 

satisfying  to  see  the  contrast  between  the  loosely  built 
native  hut  and  that  whose  pillars  are  set  in  concrete  and 
roofed  with  durable  materials.  But  it  is  disheartening 
when  the  change  is  only  from  thatch,  which  needs  to  be 
replaced  every  so  often,  to  corrugated  iron,  without  any 
other  signs  of  durability.  In  other  words,  the  corru- 
gated iron  roof  is  no  proof  that  the  race  is  becoming  more 
thrifty,  less  lazy, — but  the  reverse.  It  indicates  that 
indolence  has  found  an  easier  way,  a  more  permanent 
manner. 

My  presence  at  the  ceremony  in  honor  of  the  royal  de- 
mise gave  me  an  opportunity  to  see  at  once  some  of  the 
best  specimens  of  Samoan  manhood.  It  left  me  with  the 
impression  that  no  race  capable  of  mustering  so  many 
men  of  such  build  was  on  the  decline.  There  was  noth- 
ing in  their  manner  to  indicate  servility  or  despair. 
And  some  day  Setu,  with  his  knowledge  of  Western 
civilization  gained  at  first  hand,  may  be  the  means  of 
arousing  his  fellow-Samoans  to  great  things. 


The  process  of  assimilation  and  decline  is  taking  place 
with  far  more  rapidity  in  Hawaii.  Hawaii  crashed  like 
a  meteor  into  America  and  was  comminuted  and  absorbed. 
The  finer  dust  of  its  primitive  civilization  is  giving  more 
color  to  our  atmosphere  than  any  other  American  pos- 
session. But  the  real  Hawaii  is  rapidly  receding  into 
the  past.  On  the  beach  at  Waikiki  there  is  a  thatch-roofed 
hut,  but  like  most  of  the  Hawaiians  themselves,  it  bears 
too  obviously  the  ear-marks  of  the  West,  the  imprint  of 
invasion. 

What  there  is  left  of  the  Hawaiians  still  possesses  a 
measure  of  strength  and  calmness.  Big,  burly,  self- 
satisfied,  they  wend  their  way  unashamed  of  having  been 
conquered.  Only  a  few  thousand  can  now  claim  any 
racial  purity.  The  mixture  of  Hawaiians  with  the  van- 


214  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

ous  peoples  now  in  occupation  of  their  lands  is  growing 
greater  every  year ;  those  of  pure  Hawaiian  blood,  fewer. 
And  after  all,  is  it  any  reflection  upon  any  race  that  it  has 
been  assimilated  by  its  conquerors? 

And  assimilated  to  the  point  of  extinction  Hawaii  has 
been.  It  has  become  an  integral  part  of  a  continental 
nation  of  whose  existence  it  had  hardly  known  a  hundred 
years  ago.  When  Captain  Cook  discovered  Hawaii  he 
estimated  its  population  at  400,000.  Fifty  years  later 
there  were  only  130,000.  To-day  there  may  not  be  more 
than  30,000.  The  white  race  has  had  its  revenge  on 
these  natives  for  the  death  of  this  intrepid  captain.  And 
the  last  of  the  great  Hawaiian  rulers,  Queen  Liliuokalani, 
shorn  of  her  power,  passed  away  on  November  11,  1917. 
She,  the  descendant  of  great  warriors  and  remarkable 
political  leaders,  had  turned  to  the  only  thing  left  her — 
expressing  the  sentiments  of  her  people  in  music. 

The  submersion  is  nearly  complete.  Politically,  there 
is  n't  a  son  among  them  who  would  feel  any  happier  for 
a  revival.  So  little  fear  is  there  of  such  a  hope  ever 
rising  even  for  a  moment  in  the  Hawaiian  breast  that 
the  key  to  the  former  throne-room  hangs  indifferently 
on  a  nail  in  the  outer  office  of  the  present  government.  I 
believe  that  that  is  the  only  throne-room  under  the 
American  flag.  It  is  a  small  room,  modern  and  finished 
in  every  detail.  On  its  walls  hang  paintings  of  kings 
and  queens  and  ministers  of  state.  There  is  a  musty 
odor  about  it,  which  could  easily  be  removed.  All  one 
need  do  is  open  the  windows  and  an  inrush  of  sensuous 
air  would  sweeten  every  corner  of  it.  This  would  be 
doing  only  what  the  race  is  doing  with  every  intake  of 
alien  blood. 

A  broad-shouldered,  broad-nosed,  broad-faced — and 
seemingly  broad-hearted — Hawaiian  clerk  took  me  into 
the  room.  As  we  wandered  about  he  told  who  the 
worthies  were,  enframed  in  gilt  and  under  glass.  Inter- 
spersed with  some  facts  was  inherited  fancy.  His 


EXIT  THE  NOBLE  SAVAGE  215 

enthusiasm  rose  appreciably  when  he  recited  the  deeds 
of  Kamehameha  I,  their  most  renowned  king. 

"Once  he  saw  an  enemy  spy  approach,'*  said  my 
guide.  "He  threw  his  spear  with  such  force  that  it  pene- 
trated the  trunk  of  the  cocoa-palm  behind  which  the 
traitor  was  hiding,  and  pierced  the  man's  heart."  A 
merry  twinkle  lit  up  the  cicerone's  eyes.  That  twinkle 
was  something  almost  foreign  to  the  man :  it  must  have 
been  the  white  blood  in  him  that  was  mocking  the  tales 
of  his  native  ancestry. 

Aside  from  these  few  portraits  there  was  nothing  in 
the  throne-room  which  gave  evidence  of  Hawaii's  former 
prestige.  Here  that  king's  descendants  planned  to  lead 
his  race  to  glory  among  nations.  And  here  they  were 
outwitted.  The  guide  had  recounted  among  the  king's 
exploits  his  ability  to  break  the  back  of  his  strongest 
enemy  with  his  naked  hands.  Yet  the  white  man  came 
along  and  broke  the  Hawaiian  back.  And  to-day  he  who 
wishes  to  learn  the  habits,  the  arts,  and  the  exploits  of 
these  people  has  to  go  to  the  Bishop  Museum  in  Hono- 
lulu. 

A  primer  got  up  for  children,  to  be  learned  parrot-like, 
and  distributed  to  tourists,  tells  us  "the  Hawaiians 
never  were  savages."  We  are  also  assured  they  "never 
were  cannibals,"  and  "speedily  embraced  religion."  The 
first  is  an  obvious  misstatement ;  the  second  is  an  apology 
of  uncertain  value;  as  to  the  third,  the  son  of  one  of 
Hawaii's  best  missionaries,  who  just  died  in  his 
eighty-fifth  year,  said:  "Not  until  the  world  shall  learn 
how  to  limit  the  quantity  and  how  to  improve  the  quality 
of  races  will  future  ages  see  any  renewal  of  such  idyllic 
life  and  charm  as  that  of  the  ancient  Polynesians."  Dr. 
Titus  Munson  Coan,  whose  father  converted  some  fifteen 
thousand  Hawaiians  to  Christianity,  deplored  the  effect 
on  the  native  of  the  high-handed  suppression  of  native 
taboos  and  attributes  their  extinction — which  seems 
inevitable — to  the  imposition  of  clothes  which  they  put 


216  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

on  and  off  according  to  whim,  and  to  customs  unsuited  to 
their  natures.  Dr.  Coan  said  that  though  his  father  had 
a  powerful  voice  he  remembered  that  often  he  could  not 
hear  him  preach  because  of  the  coughing  and  sneezing  of 
the  natives. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  a  visit  to  the  Bishop  Museum  would 
quickly  contradict  the  primer.  There  the  array  of 
weapons  shows  that  the  natives  were  not  only  barbarous 
but  savage.  This  is  no  serious  condemnation,  for  none 
of  Europe's  races  can  show  any  cleaner  record.  Arts, 
indeed,  the  Hawaiians  had,  and  sense  of  form  and  color. 
An  apron  of  feathers  worn  by  the  king  required  a 
tax  of  a  feather  apiece  on  hundreds  of  birds.  After 
this  feather  was  extracted,  the  bird  was  set  free,  an  indi- 
cation of  thrift  if  not  kindliness.  Yet  they  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  strip  the  flesh  off  every  bone  of  Captain  Cook 
and  distribute  portions  among  the  native  chiefs.  No  one 
has  proved  that  they  ate  it ;  but  cannibalism  is,  after  all, 
a  relative  vice  and  was  not  unknown  in  northwestern 
Europe. 

5 

The  passing  of  the  Hawaiians,  like  that  of  many  other 
races  in  the  Pacific,  is  due  to  a  cannibalism  and  a  bar- 
barism which  are  less  emphasized  in  the  ordinary  discus- 
sions of  the  problem.  There  are  more  ways  than  one 
of  eating  your  neighbor.  However  harrowing  that  sav- 
age diet  was,  it  did  not  work  for  the  destruction  of  any 
of  these  South  Sea  islanders  as  ruthlessly  as  did  the 
practice  among  the  Hawaiians  of  infanticide.  Mothers 
were  in  the  habit  of  disposing  of  their  impetuous  children 
by  the  simple  method  of  burying  them  alive,  frequently 
under  the  very  shelter  of  their  roofs,  lying  down  upon 
the  selfsame  floor  and  sleeping  the  sleep  of  the  just  with 
the  tiny  infant  squirming  in  its  grave  beside  them.  Par- 
ents were  not  allowed  to  have  more  than  a  given  number 
of  children  because  of  the  strain  on  the  available  food 


EXIT  THE  NOBLE  SAVAGE  217 

supply.  This  more  than  anything  else  depleted  the  num- 
ber of  natives  most  disastrously.  But  in  addition  came 
the  white  man  with  his  diseases,  contagious  and  infec- 
tious,— a  form  of  destruction  that,  from  the  native  point 
of  view,  is  quite  as  dastardly  as  eating  the  flesh  of  the 
vanquished. 

Certainly,  whatever  the  viciousness  of  the  occasional 
or  annual  outbursts  of  passion  among  these  primitive 
folk,  there  was  no  example  of  regulated,  insistent  pander- 
ing to  vice  such  as  has  been  set  them  by  the  Europeans, 
especially  in  Hawaii.  There  one  evening  I  wandered 
through  the  very  depths  of  degradation;  there  I  wit- 
nessed a  process  of  fusion  of  races  which  had  only  one 
possible  end, — extinction.  Its  Hawaiian  name  had  a 
strange  similarity  to  the  word  evil :  it  is  Iwilei.  McDuffie, 
Chief  of  Detectives  of  Honolulu,  was  making  his  inspec- 
tion of  medical  certificates,  which  was  part  of  the  work 
of  " restriction,"  and  took  me  with  him. 

Mr.  McDuffie  had  been  standing  near  the  window  of 
the  outer  office,  with  one  foot  upon  a  chair,  talking  to 
another  detective,  when  I  called  out  his  name.  Tall, 
massive,  with  hair  almost  gray,  a  rather  kindly  face,  he 
looked  me  up  and  down  without  moving.  I  explained  my 
mission. 

"Who  are  you?"  he  asked  bluntly. 

A  mean  question,  always  asked  by  the  white  man  in  the 
tropics.  Well,  now,  who  in  thunder  was  I,  anyway?  I 
murmured  that  I  was  a  "writer."  "Be  round  at  seven- 
thirty,  and  you  can  come  along,"  he  said  dryly. 

On  his  office  walls  hung  hatchets,  daggers,  pistols,  sab- 
ers, and  many  other  such  toys  of  a  barbarous  world  hack- 
ing away  against  or  toward  perfection.  On  the  floor  were 
dozens  of  opium  pipes,  taken  in  a  raid  upon  Chinese 
dens, — toys  of  another  kind  of  world  trying  to  forget  its 
progress  away  from  barbarism.  One  Japanese  continued 
his  game  of  cards  nonchalantly.  Flash-lights  were  in 
evidence,  fearlessly  protruding  from  hip  pockets. 


218  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

At  half-past  seven  I  was  there  again.  As  we  were 
about  to  enter  the  motor-car,  I  ventured  some  remark, 
thinking  to  make  conversation.  ' *  Get  in  there, ' '  said  the 
chief,  abruptly.  For  an  instant  he  must  have  thought 
he  was  taking  a  criminal  to  confinement. 

Zigzagging  our  way  through  the  streets  and  across 
the  river,  we  entered  an  unlighted  thoroughfare,  hardly 
to  be  called  a  street.  A  steady  stream  of  straggling 
shadows  moved  along  like  spirits  upon  the  banks  of  the 
river  Styx.  Our  way  opened  out  upon  a  lighted  section, 
crowded  with  negro  soldiers  and  civilians  of  all  nation- 
alities. Here,  then,  and  not  only  beyond  the  grave,  class 
and  distinction  and  race  dissolve.  A  perfect  hubbub  of 
conversation,  soda  fountains  and  plain  noise,  and  reel- 
ing of  drunkies.  A  futurist  conception  of  confusion 
would  do  it  justice.  We  were  at  the  gates  of  Babylon. 

A  closely  boarded  fence  surrounded  this  city  of  dread- 
ful night.  Hundreds  of  men  crowded  the  passageway. 
Within  were  rows  and  rows  of  shacks  and  cottages.  Men 
stood  gazing  in  at  open  doors  and  windows.  Outside 
one  shack  a  negro  soldier  remained  fixed  with  his  foot 
upon  the  door-step,  but  ventured  no  farther.  Within, 
on  a  bed  in  full  view,  sat  a  Portuguese  female,  smoking, 
an  Hawaiian  woman  companion  lounging  beside  her. 
Both  ignored  the  male  at  the  door.  But  he  remained, 
silent.  Hope  fading  from  his  mind,  and  some  interest 
elsewhere  creeping  in,  he  moved  away.  The  Hawaiian 
woman  smiled  contemptuously. 

Then  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour  we  made  strange 
calls.  Our  card  was  a  club  which  the  assistant  to  the 
detective — a  massive  Hawaiian — rapped  on  every  porch 
step,  announcing  the  expected  visitor.  He  was  not  un- 
welcome. From  every  door  emerged  a  woman,  covered 
with  a  light  kimono,  and  neatly  shod.  At  cottage  after 
cottage,  door  after  door,  they  appeared,  showed  their 
11  health"  certificates,  and  retreated.  Japanese,  Hawai- 
ian, white,  brown,  and  yellow.  Some  extremely  pretty 


219 

and  not  altogether  unrefined  in  manner;  some  ugly  and 
coarse.  The  inspection  was  done  hastily.  Where 
appearance  of  the  inmate  was  delayed,  a  stamp  of  the 
foot  brought  the  tardy  one  scurrying  out.  Some  greeted 
the  detective  familiarly;  others  showed  their  certificates 
and  retreated.  One  Japanese  woman  called  after  us 
when  we  had  passed  her  door  without  stopping. 

Wherever  there  was  any  transgression  against  the 
proprieties,  the  inspector  commanded  the  guilty  to  desist, 
and  went  on.  One  woman  complained  that  a  negro  had 
just  attacked  her  with  a  knife.  She  whistled  and  called, 
she  said,  "But  I  might  have  been  killed  for  all  the  assist- 
ance I  got."  The  inspector  spoke  kindly  to  her,  assured 
her  he  would  order  the  guard  to  come  round.  But  noth- 
ing was  done. 

Two  or  three  doors  farther  on  a  fat  and  playful  woman' 
entertained  a  number  of  men  who  stood  outside  her 
porch.  The  inspector  told  her  to  keep  still.  "Just  such 
remarks  as  that  cause  trouble.  You  get  inside  and  stay 
there.'*  She  shrugged  her  shoulders,  made  faces  at  him, 
and  danced  playfully  within-doors. 

We  came  upon  two  groups  of  negroes,  gambling.  The 
inspector  slapped  one  of  them  upon  the  shoulder  in  a 
kindly  way  and  told  them  to  get  out  of  sight.  "You 
know  it  's  not  allowed  here."  They  moved  away. 

It  was  a  network  of  streets.  Not  an  underworld  but 
a  hinterland,  a  dark  swamp-land,  full  of  scum  and  squirm- 
ing creatures.  A  dreadful  city,  full  of  "joy"  and  aban- 
don. A  city  in  which  women  are  the  monarchs,  the 
business  factors,  the  independent,  fearless  beings,  need- 
ing no  protection.  Protection  from  what  could  they 
need?  Surely  not  from  poverty,  for  wealth  seemed  to 
favor  these.  From  loss  of  reputation?  They  had  no 
reputations  to  lose.  Protection  they  needed,  but  rather 
from  themselves  than  from  outside  dangers. 

For  this  was  a  restricted  district  which  harbored  no 
restrictions.  This  was  the  crater  of  human  passion,  of 


220  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

animal  passion.  The  well-ordered  universe  without; 
within,  the  toils  of  voluptuousness.  In  this  pit  the  lava 
of  lust  kept  stirring,  the  weight  of  unbalanced  emotion 
overturned  within  itself.  The  crater  was  thought  to 
be  deep  and  secure  against  overflow.  But  if  it  did  boil 
over,  was  it  far  from  the  city? 

In  the  city  the  sound  of  pianos  playing,  people  reading, 
swimming-pools  full,  streets  crowded  with  racing  auto- 
mobiles, soda  fountains  crowded,  theaters  agog,  gather- 
ing of  folks  in  homes  and  cafes, — a  great  world  with 
allotted  places  to  keep  men  and  women  and  children 
happy;  that  is,  away  from  themselves.  A  heavy  curtain 
of  order  protects  one  section.  The  most  disgusting 
polyandry  shrieks  from  out  the  other.  Yet  no  savage 
community  needed  such  an  outlet  for  its  emotions. 

From  various  sources  I  learn  that  that  little  crater 
has  overflowed.  The  Chamber  of  Commerce,  backed  by 
the  missionaries  and  others,  secured  legislation  against 
the  "regulation"  of  the  district  in  1917.  From  another 
source  I  got  it  that  it  was  not  the  forces  for  good  that 
banished  it,  but  that  two  contending  and  competing 
forces  for  evil  had  mutually  eliminated  themselves.  But 
still  another  source  gives  it  out  that  certain  "slum" 
sections  where  housing  facilities  are  inadequate  are  now 
the  center  of  evil,  and  that  Filipino  panderers  are  the 
most  guilty.  And  a  year  after  Iwilei  was  "done  away 
with" — in  April,  1918 — the  Chief  of  Detectives  asked  for 
"thirty  days"  in  which  to  show  what  he  could  do  to 
clean  up  the  place  so  as  to  make  it  fit  for  the  soldiers  to 
come  to  Honolulu. 

Little  wonder  that,  with  such  examples  of  "self- 
respect"  and  shamefulness,  lovers  of  the  Hawaiians  are 
throwing  themselves  into  the  work  of  saving  the  few 
remaining  natives  from  demoralization.  Before  Cook's 
time  these  people  did  not  know  what  prostitution  was. 
Now  they  have  lost  hope  and  confidence  in  themselves. 
The  less  pessimistic  say  that  another  hundred  years  will 


EXIT  THE  NOBLE  SAVAGE  221 

see  the  last  of  the  Hawaiians,  as  we  have  seen  the  last 
of  the  Tasmanians.  Others  fear  it  will  come  sooner.  The 
Hawaiian  Protective  Association  is  stimulating  racial 
pride  in  them  so  that  they  may  take  courage  anew,  and, 
with  what  sturdy  men  and  women  there  still  are,  reju- 
venate the  race.  But  the  odds  are  against  them,  for 
besides  disease  and  demoralization  we  have  introduced 
Japanese,  Chinese,  and  all  sorts  of  other  coolies  who 
have  completely  undermined  the  Hawaiian  status  in  the 
islands,  and  are  rapidly  outnumbering  them  in  the  birth- 
rate and  survival  rate.  What  factors  are  at  work  for 
possible  regeneration  will  be  discussed  in  a  later  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

GIVE  US  OUR  VU  GODS  AGAIN  ! 


SOME  of  the  gravest  mistakes  the  white  man  has  made 
in  his  efforts  to  regenerate  the  Pacific  peoples  have 
been  indirect  rather  than  direct.  This  fact  is  best  illus- 
trated by  the  method  Australia  and  New  Zealand  resorted 
to  in  order  to  exterminate  certain  pests.  To  eliminate  the 
rabbit  they  introduced  the  ferret.  The  ferret  then  be- 
gan to  reproduce  so  rapidly  that  it,  too,  soon  became  a 
pest.  So  the  cat  was  let  loose  upon  the  ferret.  Forth- 
with the  cat  ran  wild  and  is  now  one  of  the  most  serious 
problems  in  Australia. 

So  has  it  been  in  the  matter  of  many  of  the  native 
races.  Commercial  greed,  which  was  not  satisfied  to  use 
what  native  labor  was  extant  because  it  is  never  the  man- 
ner of  natives  to  be  willing  serfs  to  their  conquerors, 
looked  everywhere  about  for  people  who  might  be  im- 
ported under  crushing  conditions  and  then  cast  out.  It 
was  that  which  created  the  Japanese  and  Chinese  situa- 
tion in  Hawaii ;  and  it  is  that  which  has  created  a  similar 
situation  in  Fiji. 

One  would  have  to  be  an  unadulterated  sentimentalist 
to  contend  that  the  passing  of  the  natives  is  not  justified 
by  the  present  development  of  the  Antipodes.  None  of 
the  native  elements — the  Australoids  or  the  Tasmanians 
or  the  Maories — would,  of  their  own  accord,  even  with 
years  of  Caucasian  example  and  precedent,  have  made 
of  these  dominions  the  healthful,  productive  lands  they 
now  are.  As  long  as  the  problem  remains  one  of  the 
ascendancy  of  the  fittest  over  the  fit,  it  is  simple,  and  the 

222 


GIVE  US  OUR  VU  GODS  AGAIN!  223 

present  solution  justifiable.  But  the  introduction  of  other 
races  who  have  only  their  servility  to  recommend  them  is 
a  poor  practice  and  soon  turns  into  a  more  serious  prob- 
lem still.  In  most  cases,  a  little  patience  and  foresight 
would  have  obviated  such  contingencies.  Had  the  white 
folk  who  tried  to  exploit  Hawaii  contented  themselves 
with  a  slower  development,  the  Hawaiians  would  to-day 
be  as  secure  as  are  the  Samoans  and  the  Maories. 
In  all  cases  such  as  these  and  that  of  the  Philippines,  the 
native,  when  given  a  chance,  soon  justifies  his  existence 
and  our  faith  in  him. 

In  Fiji  we  have  an  example  of  the  introduction  of  the 
Hindu  to  the  extinction  of  the  Fijian  for  the  sake  of  the 
enrichment  of  the  white  man.  The  indentured  Indian, 
small  and  wiry,  who  seems  too  delicate  for  any  task  and 
is  stopped  by  none,  acts  as  a  reinforcement  in  the  South 
Sea  labor  market.  He  glides  along  in  purposeful  in- 
difference. As  coolie,  he  may  be  seen  at  any  time  wend- 
ing his  way  along  Victoria  Parade,  bareheaded,  a  thin 
sulu  of  colored  gauze  wound  about  his  loins.  As  freed 
man,  he  is  the  tailor,  the  jeweler,  the  grocer,  and  the 
gardener.  As  proprietor  he  is  buying  up  the  lands  and 
becoming  plantation-owner.  Then  he  bewails  the  woes 
of  his  native  land,  India,  far  off  in  the  distance.  Here 
in  Fiji,  where  the  coolie  has  a  chance  to  start  life  anew, 
the  longing  for  rebirth  in  this  world,  still  fresh,  bursts 
into  being.  But  no  sooner  does  it  see  the  sunlight  than 
it  turns  to  crush  the  Fijian,  in  whose  lands  the  Hindu  is 
as  much  of  an  invader  as  ever  Briton  was  in  India. 

The  introduction  of  the  Indian  into  Fiji  was  not  ac- 
complished without  considerable  protest  from  small 
planters,  who  saw  in  it  and  the  taxation  scheme  intro- 
duced over  thirty  years  ago,  great  danger  to  the  Fijian  la- 
borer. Aside  from  the  burdens  imposed  upon  the  people 
by  a  law  which  compelled  them  to  work  for  their  chiefs 
without  wages,  for  the  same  length  of  time  that  they 


224  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

worked  for  some  plantation-owner  with  wages,  there  was 
the  equally  bad  law  being  "experimented"  with  which 
compelled  the  people  to  pay  in  kind  instead  of  in  money. 
So  serious  had  the  situation  become  that  the  "Saturday 
Review"  of  June  19,  1886,  declared:  "As  the  Natives 
must  eat  something  to  live,  it  is  perhaps  not  unnatural 
that  many  people  who  know  Fiji  entertain  distinct  fears 
that  the  combination  of  over-taxation  and  want  of  food 
will  drive  the  Fijians  to  return  to  cannibalism."  The 
charge  of  cannibalism  was  denied  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Calvert,  though  further  evidence  is  not  at  hand,  as  I  have 
seen  only  the  Government's  side  of  the  case. 

However,  with  the  admission  of  some  3,800  Indians 
as  indentured  laborers  in  1884  (or  thereabouts)  among 
a  population  of  115,000  natives,  the  vital  statistics  of 
the  islands  have  changed  so  that  there  were  only  87,096 
Fijians  against  40,286  Indians  in  1911,  and  91,013  Fijians 
against  61,153  Indians  in  1917.  This  would  seem  to  in- 
dicate a  healthier  state  of  affairs  for  the  Fijians  as  well 
as  for  the  Indians,  were  not  the  comparison  of  births  with 
deaths  for  the  last  year  named  taken  into  consideration. 
This  shows  that  to  3,267  births  there  were  2,583  deaths 
among  the  Fijians;  while  among  the  Indians  the  births 
were  2,196  as  against  only  588  deaths.  This  proportion 
obtained  also  in  1911.  The  struggle  between  the  Fijians 
and  the  indentured  Indians,  even  if  the  former  were  not 
to  become  extinct  within  the  century,  would  place  the 
Fijians  in  the  minority  in  no  time ;  and  what  were  their 
lands  would  be  theirs  no  more. 

This,  briefly,  is  the  story  of  the  submersion  of  the 
Fijians. 

In  itself,  the  situation  is  not  very  serious.  What  if  the 
Fijian  passes,  or  gives  way  to  the  Indian?  The  con- 
tribution of  the  Fijian  to  the  culture  or  the  romance 
of  the  Pacific  is  small  compared  with  that  of  other  races, 
such  as  the  Samoans  or  the  Marquesans.  Of  that  more 
anon.  But  there  are  problems  involved  that  are  of  more 


A  MAORI   HAKA   IN   NEW   ZEALAND 

It  is  a  procession  of  gesticulating,  grimacing  savages  whose  protruding  tongues  are  not  the  least 


A  MAORI  CANOE  HURDLING  RACE 

At  Ngaruawahia,  North  Island,  N.  Z. 


GIVE  US  OUE  VU  GODS  AGAIN!  225 

immediate  import.  Two  races  like  these  cannot  live  to- 
gether without  creating  a  situation  of  strength  or  of 
weakness  that  is  very  far-reaching.  We  are  concerned 
with  the  attitude  they  assume  toward  each  other,  or  in 
the  substitution  of  a  race  like  the  Indians,  with  their 
fixed  traditions  and  destructive  castes,  which  will  intro- 
duce Hindu  problems  into  the  very  heart  of  the  Pacific. 
India  is  no  longer  within  bounds,  and  sooner  or  later  we 
shall  be  face  to  face  with  new  conditions.  In  eliminating 
the  Fijian  or  the  Hawaiian,  or  any  other  Pacific  islander, 
by  the  Indian  or  the  Japanese  coolie  process,  we  are 
only  intensifying  the  difficulty,  unless  we  are  ready  com- 
pletely to  overlook  the  questions  of  likes  and  dislikes. 


In  Fiji  one  is  not  yet  compelled  to  ask,  "Where  are  the 
Fijians?"  As  long  as  one's  gaze  is  fixed  slightly 
upward,  the  Fijian  face  with  the  bushy  head  of  coarse, 
curly  hair  stands  out  against  the  green  of  the  hills.  But 
let  the  eye  fall  earthward  and  the  resultant  confusion 
of  forms  and  manners  forthwith  raises  the  problem  of 
the  survival  of  the  fittest.  For  among  these  towering 
negroids  there  now  dwell  over  sixty  thousand  Telugus, 
Madrasis,  Sardars,  Hindustanis,  and  a  host  of  other  such 
strange-sounding  peoples  from  India,  and  "Sahib" 
greets  one's  ears  more  frequently  than  the  native  salu- 
tation. In  the  smaller  hotels  the  bushy  head  bows  ac- 
knowledgment of  your  commands;  in  the  one  fashion- 
able and  Grand  Hotel  the  turban  does  it.  In  the  course 
of  the  day's  demands  for  casual  service,  the  assistant  is 
the  stalwart  one;  for  the  more  permanent  work — as, 
for  instance,  the  making  of  a  pongee  silk  suit — the  artisan 
is  the  slender  one.  If  your  mood  is  for  sight  of  sprawl- 
ing indolence,  you  wander  along  the  little  pier  and  open 
places  among  the  Fijians;  if  it  is  for  the  damp,  cool, 
darkly  kind  to  help  you  visualize  the  dreams  of  the  Ara- 


226  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

bian  Nights,  you  enter  some  little  shop  in  an  alley  with 
an  unexpected  curve,  in  the  district  of  transplanted  India. 

Feeling  venturesome,  I  let  fancy  be  my  guide,  though, 
to  tell  truth,  I  was  escaping  from  the  burning  sun.  Life 
on  the  highway  was  alluring,  but,  large  as  the  Fijian  is, 
his  shadow  is  no  protection.  I  hoped  for  some  sight  of 
him  within-doors.  The  row  of  shops  which  walls  in  the 
highway,  links  without  friction  the  various  elements  of 
Suva's  humanity.  In  a  dirty  little  shop  I  ran  into  an 
unusual  medley  of  folk.  A  blind  Indian  woman  in  one 
corner;  a  Fijian  chatting  with  an  Indian  in  another;  a 
boy  whistling  "  Chin-chin ";  boys  and  girls  fooling  with 
one  another ;  while  in  the  little  balcony,  like  a  studio  bed- 
room hung  in  the  deeper  shadows  of  the  rafters,  slept 
one  whose  snoring  did  not  lend  distinction  to  his  pa- 
ternity. The  place  was  evidently  a  saloon,  but  minus 
all  the  glitter  so  requisite  in  colder  regions.  Here  the 
essential  was  dampness  and  coolness  and  improvised 
night.  Hence  the  walls  had  no  windows  and  the  floors 
no  boarding.  Hence  the  brew  had  need  of  being  cool 
and  cutting,  regardless  of  its  name;  and  whether  one 
called  it  yagona,  kava,  buza  or  beer,  it  had  the  effect  of 
making  a  dirty  little  dungeon  in  hiding  not  one  whit 
worse  than  the  Grand  Hotel  in  the  beach  breezes.  Better 
yet,  where  in  all  Fiji  was  fraternization  more  simple? 

Still,  too  much  love  is  not  lost  between  the  sleepy 
Fijian  dog  and  his  Indian  flea.  Does  the  Fijian  not  hear 
the  white  man — whom  he  respects,  after  a  fashion — call 
his  slim  competitor  ' '  coolie  ? ' '  And  is  not  kuli  the  word 
with  which  he  calls  his  dog?  Infuriated,  conscious  of  his 
centuries  of  superiority,  the  Indian  retorts  with  jungli, 
and  feels  satisfied.  His  indentured  dignity  shall  not 
decay.  At  any  rate,  he  knows  and  proves  himself  to  be 
the  cleverer.  The  future  is  his.  While  the  Fijian,  see- 
ing that  the  importation  the  white  man  calls  "dog"  gets 
on  in  life  none  the  less,  seeks  to  steep  himself  in  the 
Indian's  immorality  and  trickery  in  the  hope  that  he 


GIVE  US  OUR  VU  GODS  AGAIN!          227 

may  thereby  acquire  some  of  that  shrewdness,  as  when 
he  devoured  a  valiant  enemy  he  hoped  to  absorb  that 
enemy's  strength.  Thus  in  that  dark  little  underworld 
the  Fijian  Adonis  vegetates  in  anticipation  of  the  future 
Fiji  some  day  to  spring  into  being. 

Though  the  Indians  are  said  to  despise  the  Fijians,  I 
saw  representatives  of  the  two  races  sitting  sociably  to- 
gether upon  the  launch  up  the  Rewa  River,  smoking  and 
chatting  quite  without  any  signs  of  friction.  Indian 
women,  all  dressed  in  colored-gauze  raiment  and  laden 
with  trinkets,  huddled  behind  their  men.  They  seemed  a 
bit  of  India  sublimated,  cured  of  the  ills  of  overcrowding. 
One  woman  had  twelve  heavy  silver  bracelets  on  each 
wrist,  a  number  on  her  ankles,  several  necklaces  and 
chains  around  her  neck,  and  many  rings  on  each  of  her 
fingers  and  toes,  with  ornaments  hanging  from  her  nose 
and  ears.  But  there  was  more  than  vanity  in  this,  for, 
pretty  as  she  was,  she  refused  to  permit  me  to  photo- 
graph her.  Not  so  the  men.  One  Indian  had  his  flutes 
with  him  and  began  to  play.  His  eyes  rolled  as  he  forced 
out  the  monotonous  tones,  over  and  over  again.  His 
heart  and  his  soul  must  have  had  a  hard  time  trying  to 
emerge  simultaneously  from  these  two  tiny  reeds.  One 
bearded  patriarch  smiled  and  rose  with  a  jerk  when  I 
asked  if  he  would  pose  for  me.  A  young  Indian  woman 
crouched  on  the  floor,  all  covered  with  her  brilliantly  col- 
ored veil.  She  shared  a  cigarette  with  a  Fijian  boy  in  a 
most  Oriental  fashion.  But  those  who  know  distrust 
this  fraternization.  It  is  the  subtle  demoralization  of  the 
Fijian. 

For  the  type  of  Indian  men  and  women  who  now 
accept  the  terms  of  indenture  are  even  worse  than  those 
who  did  so  formerly,  and  the  conditions  under  which 
they  are  compelled  to  carry  out  their  " contracts"  are 
such  as  to  develop  only  the  worst  traits  of  Indian  nature. 
In  consequence,  the  Fijian  is  being  ground  between  the 
upper  (white)  and  nether  (Indian  coolie)  mill-stones. 


228  THE  PACIFIC  TEIANGLB 

His  primitive  taboos  which  worked  so  well  are  taboos 
no  longer.  The  missionary  has  destroyed  them  well- 
meaningly;  the  plantation-owner  has  preyed  upon  them 
knowingly,  has  turned  the  predatory  native  chiefs  upon 
them ;  and  now  the  riffraff  of  India  is  loose  upon  them, 
too.  I  am  convinced,  from  what  I  saw  in  the  missionary 
settlements,  that  had  the  missionaries  alone  been  left 
to  lead  these  people  away  from  barbarism,  they  would 
have  accomplished  it, — as  they  partially  have.  But  un- 
fortunately, the  one  weakness  in  their  civilizing  process, 
the  overestimation  of  minor  conventions,  such  as  the 
wearing  of  clothing,  only  left  an  opening  for  the  intake 
of  diseases  and  defects  of  our  civilization.  The  insistence 
on  monogamy  is  another  weakness,  for  to  that  the  steady 
decline  of  the  native  can  be  traced. 

This  dual  process  of  degradation  going  on  in  Fiji  is 
a  great  disappointment  to  the  adventurous.  Though  the 
natives  number  91,000,  their  ancient  rites  and  festivities 
are  without  newer  expression,  without  newer  form.  And 
though  one  hears  much  of  Fiji  as  another  India,  because 
nearly  half  the  population  is  Indian,  still,  as  C.  F. 
Andrews  has  pointed  out,  the  utter  absence  of  anything 
Indian  in  the  architecture,  the  religious  practices,  or  the 
other  expressions  of  Indian  ideals  leaves  one  wondering 
what  is  wrong  with  that  newer  world.  Everywhere  one 
hears  the  appeal,  "Give  the  man  a  chance,"  and  democ- 
racy and  the  advocates  of  self-determination  for  nations 
repeat  and  repeat  the  plea.  One  believes  that  somehow 
if  India  were  partially  depopulated  and  the  remaining 
Indians  were  given  a  chance,  the  soul  which  is  India 
would  blossom  with  renewed  life  and  glory.  One  be- 
lieves that  here  in  Fiji  such  a  miracle  might  occur.  But 
no  promise  of  regeneration  greets  the  seeker,  go  where 
he  may.  Then,  too,  there  is  something  lacking  in  the 
native.  One  is  led  to  conclude  that  the  inhibitions  upon 
the  mind  and  the  soul  of  all  the  Fijians,  through  the 
preaching  of  doctrines  strange  to  them,  or  through  the 


GIVE  US  OUR  VU  GODS  AGAIN!          229 

practices  of  foreigners  over  them,  has  put  the  seal  upon 
their  lips.  Trying  to  approximate  the  ruling  religions 
and  to  live  in  their  ways  must  create  emotional  complexes 
in  the  natives  that  are  clogging  the  wells  of  their  beings. 
From  Suva  for  forty  miles  up  the  Eewa  Eiver,  the 
only  manifestation  of  life  is  in  labor.  Aside  from  the 
crude  ornaments  on  the  limbs  of  the  women  of  India 
there  is  virtually  nothing  of  art  or  higher  expression  to 
be  seen.  Nothing  but  the  tropical  loveliness,  which  can- 
not be  denied. 


The  regeneration  of  the  Fijian  seemed  more  possible 
after  I  had  spent  a  few  moments  in  the  hut  of  the  chief 
of  the  district.  In  the  middle  of  the  village  stood  one 
plain,  unpainted  wooden  house,  distinctive  if  not  palatial. 
It  was  altogether  wanting  in  decoration  and  with  us 
might  have  passed  as  a  respectable  shed.  But  here,  sur- 
rounded by  thatched  huts,  picturesque  when  not  too  close- 
ly scrutinized,  it  assumed  exceeding  importance  through 
contrast. 

The  door,  reached  by  a  flight  of  four  or  five  steps,  stood 
wide  open.  The  interior  was  not  partitioned  into  rooms. 
Half  of  it  was  a  raised  platform-like  divan  or  sleeping- 
section,  spread  with  native  mats.  Upon  this  elevation 
sat  a  fine-looking  man, — clean-shaven,  with  a  head  as 
bald  as  those  of  his  brethren  are  bushy,  dressed  in  clean 
and  not  inexpensive  materials,  and  wearing  a  gold  watch 
on  his  left  wrist.  On  my  being  introduced,  he  greeted 
me  in  English  so  fluent  and  pure  that  I  was  considerably 
taken  aback.  He  was  as  self-possessed  as  most  Fijians 
are  shy.  This  was  Eatu  Joni,  Mandraiwiwi,  chief  of 
eighty  thousand  Fijians,  one  of  the  only  two  native  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislative  Council,  highly  respected,  and 
the  most  powerful  living  chief  of  his  race. 

He  remained  seated  in  native  fashion,  legs  crossed 
before  him,  and  after  a  few  general  remarks  indicated  a 


230  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

desire  to  resume  his  confab  with  the  half-dozen  natives — 
all  big,  powerful  men — facing  him  on  the  lower  section 
of  the  chamber.  His  reception  of  me  was  cordial,  yet 
his  was  the  reserve  of  a  prime  minister.  His  bearing 
gave  the  impression  of  a  man  intelligent,  calm,  just,  and 
not  without  vision.  He  knew  his  rank.  Had  I  been  a 
native  and  dared  to  cross  his  door-step — plebeian  that 
I  am — I  should  most  likely  have  seen  dignity  in  anger. 
But,  though  an  insignificant  white  man,  I  still  bore  the 
mark  of  "rank"  sufficient  to  gain  admission  unceremoni- 
ously and  was  given  a  place  beside  him  on  the  divan. 
But  he  had  an  uncanny  way  of  making  me  feel  suddenly 
extremely  shy.  I  was  aware  of  intruding,  of  having  been 
presumptuous, — an  uninvited  guest.  So  I  withdrew. 

The  district  over  which  he  rules,  though  inferior  to 
many  another  in  productivity,  has  always  had  the  rep- 
utation for  being  well  kept  up  and  in  healthful  condi- 
tion and  was  pointed  out  as  an  example  to  the  other 
chiefs  as  early  as  1885.  At  Bau,  five  miles  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  Ratu  Joni  has  a  home  European  in 
every  detail.  It  forms  an  interesting  background  for  his 
European  entertainments.  His  income  is  enough  to  make 
a  white  man  envious.  One  son,  an  Oxford  man,  was 
wounded  in  Flanders  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war ;  another 
was  at  the  time  attending  college  in  Australia.  Ratu 
Joni  is  Roko  (native  governor)  of  the  province  of 
Tailevu  (Greater  Fiji). 

Mr.  Waterhouse,  the  missionary  who  kindly  went  about 
with  me  and  made  it  possible  for  me  to  meet  this  chief 
and  to  understand  some  of  the  native  problems,  gave  me 
a  brief  story  of  this  impressive  man's  life.  Though  his 
father  had  been  hanged  or  strangled  for  plotting  against 
the  life  of  the  chief  who  ruled  then,  Ratu  Joni  succeeded 
in  making  his  way  to  the  fore  in  Fijian  politics.  He  set 
himself  the  task  of  cleaning  up  his  country.  Of  him  it 
could  not  be  said  that  he  ever  had  reason  to  be  ashamed 
of  his  rule.  Of  him  none  could  say  as  did  a  British 


GIVE  US  OUR  VU  GODS  AGAIN!          231 

governor  in  a  speech  say  of  another  Fijian:  "What!  has 
this  chief  been  indolent?  Perhaps  he  limes  his  head, 
paints  his  face,  and  stalks  about,  thinking  only  of  him- 
self; or  is  it  that  he  squabbles  with  his  neighbors  about 
some  border  town,  and  lets  his  people  starve?" 

One  cannot  judge  a  people  by  the  conditions  of  its 
chiefs  or  rulers;  but  with  regard  to  the  natives  of  the 
Pacific,  as  in  the  case  of  other  people  accustomed  to  the 
rigorous  life  of  battle,  their  safety  lies  in  the  uses  to 
which  they  have  been  put  by  their  conquerors.  The 
British  Government  has  utilized  the  Sikhs,  its  most  dif- 
ficult Indians,  by  making  them  the  constabulary  through- 
out the  length  and  breadth  of  its  Asiatic  empire.  This 
has  been  done  in  Fiji,  too.  But  the  most  hopeful  sign 
to  me  in  these  islands  on  the  180th  meridian  was  the 
Fijian  constabulary.  A  finer  lot  of  men  could  not  be 
found  anywhere  in  the  world.  Not  only  their  physique 
but  their  intelligent  faces  and  their  alacrity  suggest  great 
promise.  One  of  them  came  on  board  our  ship  with  his 
clean,  tidy,  sturdy  wife — a  public  companionship  rare  for 
these  people — and  was  received  by  the  officers.  His  white 
sulu,  serrated  on  the  edge  like  some  of  the  latest  fashions 
on  Broadway,  hung  only  to  his  knees.  His  massive  legs 
and  broad  shoulders  were  a  delight  to  look  upon.  His 
wife  was  as  handsome  a  woman  as  I  have  seen  in  the 
tropics.  The  two  gladly  posed  for  me,  and  asked  me  to 
send  them  a  print. 


Generally  the  thought  and  feeling  of  the  natives  in 
the  South  Seas  come  to  the  outer  world  through  the  works 
of  white  men, — missionaries  and  scientists.  But  rare 
indeed  is  the  revelation  of  the  mind  of  a  strange  people 
brought  to  us  pure  and  clear  without  the  white  man 's  bias 
or  reaction.  Here  and  there  I  have  run  across  snatches  of 
native  thinking  that  were  revelations,  but  no  others  so 


232  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

full  and  vivid  as  the  essay  by  a  native  Fijian  on  the  de- 
cline of  his  race,  which  appeared  in  the  "Hibbert  Jour- 
nal" (Volume  XI).  The  translator  opens  the  door  to  the 
Fijian  mind  as  by  magic.  After  reading  that,  I  felt  that 
personal  contact  with  these  natives  akin  to  contact  with 
any  other  human  being,  for  I  looked  behind  dark  skin 
and  bushy  head,  and  saw  the  spirit  of  hope  within.  The 
translator  says: 

It  shows  exactly  how  an  intelligent  Fijian  may  conceive  Christianity. 
That  is  a  point  we  need  to  know  badly,  for  most  missionaries  see  the 
bare  surface.  It  also  contains  hints  how  the  best  intentions  of  a  gov- 
ernment may  be  misconstrued,  and  suspicion  engendered  on  one  side, 
impatience  and  reproaches  of  ingratitude  on  the  other,  which  a  more 
intimate  knowledge  of  native  thought  might  remove. 

The  argument  of  the  essay  is  that  "The  decline  of  na- 
tive population  is  due  to  our  abandoning  the  native 
deities,  who  are  God's  deputies  in  earthly  matters.  God 
is  concerned  only  with  matters  spiritual  and  will  not 
harken  to  our  prayers  for  earthly  benefits.  A  return 
to  our  native  deities  is  our  only  salvation." 

The  native  reflects: 

Concerning  this  great  matter,  to  wit  the  continual  decline  of  us 
natives  at  this  time,  it  is  a  great  and  weighty  matter.  For  my  part 
I  am  ill  at  ease  on  that  account;  I  eat  ill  and  sleep  ill  through  my 
continual  pondering  of  this  matter  day  after  day.  Three  full  months 
has  my  soul  been  tossed  about  as  I  pondered  this  great  matter,  and  in 
those  three  months  there  were  three  nights  when  pondering  of  this 
matter  in  my  bed  lasted  even  till  day,  and  something  then  emerged  in 
my  mind,  and  these  my  reflections  touch  upon  religion  and  touch  upon 
the  law,  and  the  things  that  my  mind  saw  stand  here  written  below. 

He  then  takes  up  the  points  that  have  disturbed  him : 

Well,  if  the  very  first  thing  that  lived  in  the  world  is  Adam,  whence 
did  he  come,  he  who  came  to  tell  Eve  to  eat  the  fruit?  From  this 
fact  it  is  plain  that  there  is  a  Prince  whom  God  created  first  to  be 
Prince  of  the  World,  perchance  it  is  he  who  is  called  the  Vu  God 
[Noble  Vu]  ....  Consider  this :  It  is  written  in  the  Bible  that  there 
were  only  two  children  of  Adam,  to  wit  Cain  and  Abel.  But  whence 
did  the  woman  come  who  was  Cain's  wife?  .  .  . 

It  seems  to  me  as  though  the  introducers  of  Christianity  were  slightly 
wrong  in  so  far  as  they  have  turned  into  devils  the  Vu  Gods  of  the 
various  parts  of  Fiji;  and  since  the  Vu  Gods  have  suddenly  been 
abandoned  in  Fiji,  it  is  as  though  we  changed  the  decision  of  the 


GIVE  US  OUR  VU  GODS  AGAIN!          233 

Great  God,  Jehovah,  since  that  very  Vu  God  is  a  great  leader  of  the 
Fijians.  That  is  why  it  seems  to  me  a  possible  cause  for  the  Decline 
of  Population  lies  in  the  rule  of  the  Church  henceforth  to  treat  alto- 
gether as  devil  work  the  ghosts  and  the  manner  of  worshiping  the 
Vu  Gods  of  the  Fijians,  who  are  their  leaders  in  the  life  in  the  flesh, 
whom  the  Great  God  gave,  and  chose,  and  sent  hither  to  be  man's 
leader.  But  now  that  the  Vu  Gods  whom  Jehovah  gave  us  have  been 
to  a  certain  extent  rudely  set  aside,  and  we  go  to  pray  directly  to  the 
God  of  Spirit  for  things  concerning  the  flesh  [life  in  the  flesh],  it 
appears  as  if  the  leader  of  men  resents  it  and  he  sets  himself  to  crush 
our  little  children  and  women  with  child.  Consider  this: 

If  you  have  a  daughter,  and  she  loves  a  youth  and  is  loved  of  him, 
and  you  dislike  this  match,  but  in  the  end  they  none  the  less  follow 
their  mutual  love  and  elope  forthwith  and  go  to  be  married,  how  is  it 
generally  with  the  first  and  the  second  child  of  such  a  union,  does  it 
live  or  does  it  die?  The  children  of  Fijians  so  married  are  as  a  rule 
already  smitten  from  their  mother's  womb.  Wherefore?  Does  the 
woman's  father  make  witchcraft?  No.  Why  then  does  the  child  die 
thus? 

Simply  that  your  Vu  sees  your  anger  and  carries  out  his  crushing 
even  in  its  mother's  womb ;  that  is  the  only  reason  of  the  child's  death. 
Or  what  do  you  think  in  the  matter?  Is  it  by  the  power  of  the  devil 
that  such  wonders  are  wrought?  No,  that  is  only  the  power  that 
originates  from  the  God  of  Spirit,  who  has  granted  to  the  Prince  of 
men,  Vu  God,  that  his  will  and  his  power  should  come  to  pass  in  the 
earthly  life. 

He  develops  this  theme  with  ever-increasing  emotion, 
until  his  poor  mind  can  think  no  more. 

Alas!  Fiji!  Alas!  Fiji  is  gone  astray,  and  the  road  to  the  salva- 
tion of  its  people  is  obstructed  by  the  laws  of  the  Church  and  the 
State.  Alas!  you,  our  countrymen,  if  perchance  you  know,  or  have 
found  the  path  which  my  thoughts  have  explored  and  join  exertions 
to  attain  it,  then  will  Fiji  increase. 

But  Fijians  have  prayed  to  God,  yet  they  have  not 
increased,  he  exclaims,  faced  with  the  unalterable  facts. 
Why  not?  Christianity  has  been  with  them  many  years. 
Does  God  hear  their  prayer?  He  proceeds  to  give  his 
own  observations  of  life,  and  asks:  "Is  this  true,  rev- 
erend sirs?  Yes,  it  is  most  true."  After  making  some 
comparisons  between  his  land  and  others,  neglected  of 
God  in  that  they  have  no  Vu  Gods,  he  expostulates : 

And  if  the  Vu  were  placed  at  our  head  .  .  .  there  would  be  no 
still  births  and  Fiji  would  then  be  indeed  a  people  increasing  rapidly, 
since  our  conforming  to  our  native  customs  would  combine  with  prog- 
ress in  cleanly  living  at  the  present  time.  Now,  in  the  past  when  the 


234  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

ancients  only  worshiped  Vu  Gods  and  there  was  no  commandment 
about  cleanly  living,  yet  they  kept  increasing.  Then  if  ...  this  were 
also  combined  with  the  precept  of  cleanly  living,  I  think  the  villages 
would  then  be  full  of  men.  Or  what,  sir,  is  your  conclusion  ? 

A  few  more  excerpts,  taken  here  and  there,  will  reveal 
the  interesting  mind  of  this  Fijian : 

If  this  is  right,  then  it  is  plain  how  far  removed  we  are  from  certain 
big  countries.  How  wretched  they  are  and  weak,  whose  medicines  are 
constantly  being  imported  and  brought  here  in  bottles.1  As  for  me,  I 
simply  do  my  duty  in  saying  what  appears  in  my  mind  when  I  think 
of  my  country  and  my  friends  who  are  its  inhabitants;  for  since  it 
wants  only  a  few  years  to  the  extinction  of  the  people  it  is  right  that 
I  reveal  what  has  appeared  in  my  soul,  for  it  may  be  God's  will  to 
reveal  in  my  soul  this  matter.  Now  it  is  not  expedient  for  me  to 
suppress  what  has  been  revealed  to  me,  and  if  I  do  not  declare  what 
has  appeared  from  forth  my  soul,  I  have  sinned  thereby  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Spirit  God:  I  shall  be  questioned  regarding  it  on  the  day  of 
judgment  of  souls;  nor  is  it  fitting  that  one  of  the  missionaries  should 
be  angry  with  me  by  reason  of  my  words;  it  is  right  that  they  should 
consider  everything  that  I  have  here  said,  and  judge  accordingly.  It 
is  no  use  being  ashamed  to  change  the  rules  of  the  Church,  if  the 
country  and  its  inhabitants  will  thereby  be  saved. 

There  is  great  hope  for  a  people  with  such  thinkers 
among  them.  And  if  there  are  such  hopes  for  the 
Fijians,  there  are  still  greater  possibilities  for  the 
Maories,  Samoans,  Tahitians,  and  Hawaiians. 


Politically,  as  separate  island  races,  they  are  no  more. 
The  little  Kingdom  of  Barotonga  is  one  of  the  last  to 
remain  independent.  The  European  war,  oddly  enough, 
in  which  Maories  and  Fijians  fought  for  "the  rights  of 
little  nations, "  has  sold  them  out  completely,  just  as 
it  did  Shantung  in  China.  No  one  thought  that  a  war 
in  a  continent  fifteen  thousand  miles  away  would  play 
such  havoc  with  the  destinies  of  these  people.  The 

1  The  translator  says  in  a  footnote:  "Whites  pity  Fijians,  but  they  find 
reasons  to  pity  us.  That  is  what  white  men  generally  fail  to  realize;  they 
put  down  to  laziness  or  stupidity  their  reluctance  to  assimilate  our  civili- 
zation, whereas  it  arises  from  a  different  point  of  view;  and  that  point  of 
view  is  not  always  wrong  or  devoid  of  common  sense.  Is  Fijian  medicine 
more  absurd  than  our  patent  medicines,  or  as  expensive T" 


GIVE  US  OUR  VU  GODS  AGAIN!  235 

" mandates,"  yielded  with  such  cynical  generosity,  put 
the  seal  upon  their  fate,  and  opened  new  international 
sores. 

Pessimistic  as  this  may  sound,  there  are  evidences  of 
resuscitation  in  the  working  out  of  these  mandates,  as 
will  appear  in  the  chapter  on  Australasia.  The  Polyne- 
sians are  becoming  conscious  of  unity,  and  talk  of  lead- 
ership under  the  New  Zealand  mandate  is  rife  in  Parlia- 
ment. ' '  Nothing  would  hasten  the  depletion  of  the  race 
more  than  the  loss  of  hope  and  confidence  in  themselves, ' ' 
says  the  Hawaiian  " Friend."  That  hope  seems  to  be 
flickering  into  new  life. 

No  people  have  suffered  more,  directly,  from  contact 
with  the  " civilized"  white  races  than  the  Polynesians. 
Morally  undermined,  politically  deprived  of  powers, 
physically  subjected  to  scourge  after  scourge  of  epidemic 
introduced  by  white  men,  their  own  standards  of  living 
brushed  aside  as  vulgar  and  infantile, — these  heliolithic 
people  with  their  neolithic  culture  approached  the  very 
verge  of  extinction.  Then  the  white  race  began  to  sen- 
timentalize over  them,  and  sincere  scientific  people  to 
deplore  their  evanescence.  Some  of  these  latter  have 
earned  the  eternal  gratitude  not  only  of  the  natives  but 
of  the  whole  world.  Some  of  them  I  have  mentioned  in 
other  connections.  Two  others  decidedly  deserve  recog- 
nition. Mr.  Elsdon  Best,  the  curator  of  the  "Wellington 
Museum,  is  a  tall,  thin  individual  who  has  roamed  all 
over  the  Pacific.  He  has  worked  his  way  for  years  in  the 
interests  of  the  Amerindians,  Hawaiians,  and  Maories. 
Now  he  has  one  of  the  finest  museums  in  the  South  Seas 
— excepting  that,  of  course,  in  Honolulu — in  which  he 
treasures  anything  and  everything  that  will  help  throw 
light  on  the  history  of  these  interesting  people.  The 
other  is  Mrs.  Bernice  Bishop,  a  part-Hawaiian  woman, 
who  established  the  museum  in  Honolulu  which  bears 
her  name.  These  are  the  centers  round  which  we  white 
folk  shall  be  able  to  gather  for  the  preservation  of  this 


236  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

other  type  of  the  human  species.  In  the  summer  of  1921 
a  Scientific  Congress  under  the  auspices  of  the  Pan- 
Pacific  Union  and  the  immediate  directorship  of  Pro- 
fessor Gregory  of  Yale  was  held  to  devise  ways  and 
means  of  furthering  the  study  of  these  races,  and  its 
work  is  proceeding  apace. 

Museums  and  " models"  of  native  architecture  are  the 
modern  white  man's  diaries,  recalling  the  acts  of  ravish- 
ment and  destruction  which  his  development  and  expan- 
sion entailed.  Let  us  hope  that  out  of  the  efforts  of 
scientists  will  spring  a  new  consciousness  of  worth,  which 
early  missionaries  and  scheming  traders  did  everything 
to  destroy.  Yet  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  much  of 
our  knowledge  of  these  races  comes  from  those  mission- 
aries who  were  broad-minded  enough  to  recognize  the 
value  of  recording  customs  and  beliefs,  even  if  their  pur- 
pose was  the  more  effectively  to  counteract  them. 


HIS  TATTOOED  WIFE 


SOMETHING  there  is  in  the  very  bearing  of  the  peo- 
ple in  the  Pacific  which,  despite  the  obvious  differ- 
ences between  us,  strikes  a  note  of  kinship  in  the  mind 
of  the  white  man  least  conscious  of  his  true  relationship 
to  these  brown  folk.  A  certain  chemical  affinity,  as  it 
were,  makes  the  problem  of  intermarriage  with  the  Poly- 
nesians an  altogether  different  matter  from  that  among 
Eurasians.  For  in  the  marriage  of  an  Occidental  and  a 
true  Oriental  there  is  the  clashing  of  two  antagonistic 
cultures  each  equally  complex  and  tenacious,  while  ''here 
there  is  evidence  in  the  physique  of  the  people  that  three 
great  divisions  of  mankind  have  intermixed." 

But  in  the  Pacific  islands  the  white  man  feels  himself 
among  his  kind.  The  reason  is  hard  to  explain.  Cer- 
tainly it  is  not  the  loose  and  ungainly  Mother-Hubbard 
gowns  which  are  still  the  style  of  the  native  maiden.  Yet 
the  stoutish,  portly  individual  who  is  introduced  to  you 
as  a  chief  and  who  parades  the  street  along  the  water- 
front in  a  suit  of  silk  pajamas  might  easily  be  a  conti- 
nental sleep-walker  who  has  no  remembrance  of  the 
thousands  of  years  that  lie  between  him  and  the  men 
among  whom  he  is  waking.  And  the  white  man  just  ar- 
rived drops  off  under  the  anaesthetic  influence  of  the 
tropics,  forgetful  of  the  thousands  of  years  in  which  he 
has  been  busy  laying  up  his  treasures  on  earth. 

Under  this  narcotic  influence  I  wandered  along  the 
shores  of  Apia,  Samoa,  toward  sundown,  the  day  before 
my  departure.  Within  me  was  a  melancholy  satisfaction, 

237 


238  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

an  unwillingness  to  admit  even  to  myself  the  truth  that 
I  was  glad  to  go,  like  one  conscious  of  being  cured  of  a 
delightful  vice.  I  had  had  my  fill  of  association  with 
men  whose  main  theme  of  conversation  when  together 
was  the  virtues  of  whisky  and  soda  as  an  antidote  for 
dengue  fever,  and  when  apart,  the  faults  of  one  another. 
I  had  watched  the  process  of  acclimatization  as  it  attacks 
the  souls  of  men,  and  pitied  some  of  them.  Many  would 
have  scorned  my  pity.  Some  did  not  deserve  it.  Others 
did  not  need  it.  The  story  of  one  is  worth  while,  though 
it  has  no  solution. 

He  had  been  stationed  in  Samoa  as  a  member  of  the 
military  staff  with  police  duties.  Behind  him  he  had 
left  a  wife  and  kiddies.  He  longed  for  them  as  only  a 
man  struggling  against  tropic  odds  to  remain  faithful  to 
his  promise  needs  must  long.  He  was  faithful,  but  she 
was  fearful.  She  was  writing  to  him  daily  not  to  forget. 
No  woman  forgets  easily  the  ill-repute  of  her  fellow- 
women,  and  all  Northern  women  distrust  their  sisters  of 
the  warmer  worlds.  "Women  hear  and  believe  that  there 
is  none  of  their  kind  of  virtue  in  the  tropics,  and  they 
do  not  trust  the  best  of  their  men.  They  do  not  seem 
to  be  at  all  aware  of  the  fact  that  faithfulness  and  devo- 
tion are  as  strong  impulses  in  the  breasts  of  the  dark 
maidens  as  among  themselves,  and  that  semi-savage 
girls  have  hearts,  too,  which  can  be  broken.  So  this 
man  whose  friendship  I  had  won  urged  that  I  write  to 
his  wife  and,  in  my  own  way,  assure  her  of  his  loyalty. 
I  have  never  heard  the  end.  But  if  ever  she  reads  this 
account,  I  hope  she  will  believe  in  him. 

For  there  are  women  in  the  tropics,  just  like  her,  who 
pray  that  their  men  will  be  faithful.  I  was  walking 
along,  thinking  of  him  and  of  her.  The  evening  glow, 
full  to  overflowing  of  tropic  loveliness,  was  all  about. 
The  white  foam  of  the  breakers  dashing  themselves 
against  the  reefs  out  there,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away, 
came  softly  in,  over  the  smooth  water,  to  land.  The 


HIS  TATTOOED  WIFE  239 

laughter  of  little  children  on  the  beach  seemed  to  tease, 
the  hiss  of  the  sea,  a  combination  of  elemental  things 
utterly  without  tragedy. 

Just  then  I  came  upon  a  group  of  people  gathered  at 
the  little  pier.  Strewn  about  their  feet  were  trunks  and 
bags  and  kits,  indicating  departure  in  haste,  while  the 
presence  of  a  handful  of  soldiers,  standing  at  attention, 
was  an  unspoken  explanation  of  what  was  toward.  The 
civilians  clustered  in  a  little  group,  quiet,  communicat- 
ing with  one  another  in  whispers.  They  comprised  sev- 
enteen Germans,  erstwhile  the  wealthiest  plantation- 
owners,  now  prisoners  of  war,  and  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren, from  whom  they  were  to  be  parted.  The  cause  of 
their  departure  is  not  pertinent  here.  The  human  equa- 
tion is. 

As  the  officer  issued  his  order  for  embarkation,  there 
was  a  momentary  commotion.  Soldiers,  by  no  means  un- 
friendly to  their  prisoners,  assisted  them  in  the  placing 
of  luggage  on  the  boat.  The  men,  turning  to  their  women 
and  children  with  warm  embraces,  called  in  forced  cheer- 
fulness that  they  would  soon  be  back.  All  the  men 
stepped  into  the  rowboats  and  with  full,  powerful  strokes 
of  Samoan  oarsmen  they  were  borne  out  across  the  reefs 
toward  the  steamer  anchored  beyond.  Upon  the  beach 
remained  bewildered  native  women  and  their  half-caste 
children,  some  of  them  in  an  agony  of  grief  now  run 
wild.  One  family  lingered,  weeping  silently.  A  group 
of  two  middle-aged  women,  a  girl  of  about  twenty,  two 
small  girls,  and  two  boys  stood  gazing  out  toward  the 
ship.  They  brushed  away  tears  absent-mindedly.  A 
little  girl  and  boy  cried  quietly.  And  like  that  white  wife 
in  the  temperate  world,  these  dark-skinned  women  of  the 
tropics  were  left  to  wonder  whether  their  husbands  would 
remain  faithful  to  them  in  a  world  of  which  they  had 
vague  if  not  altogether  wrong  notions. 

A  full,  mellow  afterglow  threw  the  ship  for  a  moment 
into  relief,  and  twilight  lowered.  Upon  the  end  pile  of 


240  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

the  pier  sat  a  young  Samoan  in  a  halo  of  dim  light. 
From  this  modern  scene  which  may  some  day  be  the 
theme  for  a  South  Sea  ' '  Evangeline ' '  I  moved  away  won- 
dering what  this  cleavage  of  people  would  mean  to  the 
Polynesians.  An  unconscious  curiosity  led  me  into  the 
village.  It  was  night.  From  the  various  huts  rang  the 
voices  of  happy  natives.  Fires  flamed  under  their  even- 
ing meals.  Dim  lamps  revealed  shadow-figures  of  men 
and  women.  A  slight  drizzle  brushed  over  the  valley 
and  disappeared.  Then  the  firm  tread  of  feet  sounded 
in  the  dusty  road.  About  twenty  girls,  two  abreast, 
stamping  their  naked  feet,  passed  by  and  on  into  the 
darkness  to  drop,  matrice-like,  each  into  her  own  home. 
Earlier  that  evening  they  had  escorted  to  the  ship 
the  white  woman  who  was  their  missionary  teacher. 
One  long  skiff  had  held  them  all.  Each  had  a  single  oar 
in  hand,  short  and  spear-headed,  with  which  she  struck 
the  gunwale  of  the  boat  after  every  stroke,  thus  beating 
time  to  a  native  song.  Here  was  another  case  of  contact 
and  cleavage.  Their  teacher  was  returning  to  her  land, 
leaving  them  with  the  glimmer  of  her  ideals,  her  notions 
of  life  and  loyalty.  How  much  of  it  would  hold  them? 
Coming  and  going,  the  fusion  of  races,  once  of  a  common 
stock,  is  taking  place. 


I  cannot  recall  having  received  any  definite  invitation 
from  any  of  the  principals  responsible  for  the  party  I 
attended  one  evening  in  Apia,  but  in  the  islands  the  re- 
spectable stranger  does  not  find  himself  lonely.  It  was 
sufficient  that  I  was  a  friend  of  one  of  the  guests.  Four 
young  men  who  were  leaving  were  given  a  send-off ;  and 
the  celebrations  were  to  take  place  in  the  little  Sunday- 
school  shack. 

That  evening  the  little  structure  was  metamorphosed 
from  crude  solemnity  by  a  generous  trimming  in  palm 
branches  and  flowers,  as  though  it  had  been  turned  out- 


^  fa 
g   o 

Is 


A   GROUP   OF   WHITES   AND   HALF-CASTES   IN   SAMOA 
The  father  of  the  two  girls  was  a  lawyer  and  the  son  of  a  Sydney  (Australia)  clergyman 


A   SHIP-LOAD   OF    "PICTURE-BRIDES"    ARRIVING   AT   SEATTLE 
Japanese  seldom  marry  other  than  Japanese  women 


A   MAORI   WOMAN  WITH   HER  CHILDREN 
The  father  is  a  white  man — a  New  Zealand  shepherd 


HIS  TATTOOED  WIFE  241 

side  in.  Oil-lamps  hung  from  the  rafters  by  stiff  wires, 
unyielding  even  to  the  weight  of  the  light-giving  vessels. 
The  awkwardness  of  some  of  the  natives  in  their  relations 
with  the  whites  could  not  be  overcome  even  by  their 
obvious  inclination.  But  the  music  stirred  us  all  into 
a  whirl  of  equality.  It  was  furnished  by  an  old  crone 
of  a  native  woman.  She  was  dressed  in  a  shabby  Mother- 
Hubbard  gown  and  her  feet  were  bare.  Her  stiff  fin- 
gers worked  upon  the  keys  of  an  accordion  in  a  sluggish 
fashion,  as  she  confused  old-fashioned  barn-dances  with 
sentimental  melodies.  She  was  stirred  on  to  greater 
sentiment  by  the  teasing  approaches  of  one  white  man 
fully  three-quarters  drunk.  As  for  the  dancers, — what 
to  them  were  half-expressed  notes?  Their  own  fresh 
blood  more  than  overcame  any  lack. 

Pretty  young  flappers,  eager  for  the  arms  of  the 
white  chaps,  moved  about  among  stolid  dames  whose 
purity  of  race  revealed  itself  in  russet  skins  and  slightly 
flattened  noses.  They  had  finer  features  than  the  ma- 
trons. The  white  "impurities"  shone  out  of  them.  But 
they  were  not  quite  free,  not  quite  absolved  from  the 
weight  of  their  primitive  forebears.  They  were  shy  and 
had  little  to  say  for  themselves,  and  it  seemed  they 
wished  they  could  just  cast  off  the  high-heeled  shoes  and 
tight  garments  and  be  that  which  at  least  half  of  them- 
selves wished  to  be.  Yet  they  were  erect  and  proud, — 
and  gay. 

Behind  the  curtain  which  hung  across  the  little  ros- 
trum stood  tables  fairly  littered  with  bananas,  mangos, 
and  watermelons,  mingled  with  the  fruits  of  the  North- 
ern kitchen  stove, — cakes,  pies,  and  meats  enough  to  sat- 
isfy a  harvesting-gang.  And  when  the  call  to  supper 
came,  the  invasion  of  this  hidden  treasure  island  and  its 
despoliation  proved  that  however  much  mankind  may  be 
differentiated  socially  and  intellectually,  gastronomically 
there  is  universal  equality. 

There  is  another  basis  upon  which  the  wide  world  is 


242  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

one,  and  that  is  in  its  affections.  Long  after  midnight 
the  party  would  have  still  been  in  progress  but  for  the 
threat  of  the  ferry-men.  They  wished  to  retire  and  an- 
nounced that  the  last  boat  was  soon  to  start  across  the 
moon-splattered  reefs.  There  was  a  hurried  meeting 
of  lips  in  farewell.  The  silver  light  revealed  more  than 
one  sweet  face  crumpled  before  separation.  Then  with 
the  first  dip  of  their  oars  into  the  sea  the  swarthy  oars- 
men began  the  song  which,  exotic  and  sentimental  as 
it  was,  left  every  heart  as  aching  for  the  shore  as  it  did 
those  of  the  simple  half-caste  maidens  for  their  casual 
lovers  of  the  colder  Antipodes. 

U0h,  I  neva  wi'  fo-ge-et  chu,"  drawled  the  oarsmen, 
and  they  on  shore  joined  in  with  the  softer  voices  of 
that  gentler  world. 


I  had  been  an  unknown  and  unknowing  guest,  paying 
my  rates  for  keep  at  the  hotel.  For  most  of  an  hour  I 
had  been  in  a  small  upper  room  with  three  or  four  white 
men  whose  sole  object  seemed  to  be  to  get  as  drunk  as 
they  could  and  to  induce  me  to  join  them.  In  those  clear 
moments  that  flash  across  leary  hours,  they  gave  voice 
to  their  disapproval  of  intermarriage  with  the  natives. 
Then  I  learned  of  the  wedding  taking  place  below.  My 
curiosity  led  me  downstairs,  and  though  an  utter 
stranger,  I  made  my  way  into  the  company.  Not  for  a 
moment  did  I  feel  myself  out  of  place.  Such  is  the  na- 
ture of  life  in  the  tropics.  Among  those  present  were 
pretty  half-caste  maidens,  slovenly  full-blooded  native 
matrons,  men  and  women  of  all  ages  and  conditions  of 
attire.  There  were  German-Samoans,  English,  English- 
Samoans,  American  and  American-Samoans,  with  a 
salting  of  no  (or  forgotten)  nationality.  Some  were  in 
Mother-Hubbard  gowns,  some  in  pongee  silks,  some  in 
canvas  and  white  duck,  cut  either  for  street  or  evening 
wear.  One  young  chap,  the  clerk  at  the  customs,  came 


HIS  TATTOOED  WIFE  243 

dressed  in  the  latest  tuxedo.  And  a  half-caste  chief 
appeared  in  a  suit  of  silk  pajamas. 

The  marriage-feast  was  as  sumptuous  as  any  that  ever 
tempted  the  palate  of  man.  It  was  spread  not  on  acres, 
as  in  the  olden  days,  but  on  a  long  table  which  stretched 
the  length  of  the  thirty-foot  room.  Photographs  are 
everywhere  sold  displaying  so-called  cannibal  feasts, 
with  huge  turtles  and  hundreds  of  tropical  vegetables. 
However  it  may  have  been  in  those  days,  at  this  feast 
the  guests  were  cannibal  in  manners  only.  They  stood 
round  the  table  and  helped  themselves  with  that  disre- 
gard of  to-morrow's  headache  and  the  hunger  of  the  day 
after  which  is  said  to  be  primitive  lack  of  economy. 

As  the  guests  were  led  out  into  the  dance-hall,  one 
young  stalwart  took  the  remnant  of  the  watermelon  rind 
he  had  been  gnawing  and  slung  it  straight  at  the  pretty 
back  of  a  Euro-Polynesian  girl  in  evening  frock.  She 
tittered  at  him.  The  jollity  was  running  too  high  for 
any  one  to  be  disturbed  by  anything  like  that. 

Soon  the  dance  was  in  full  swing.  Not  the  tango,  which 
we  regard  as  primitive  and  wild,  but  sober  editions  of 
dances  with  us  long  out  of  date.  The  need  is  more  press- 
ing in  the  tropics  among  folk  of  part-white  parentage 
than  an  appearance  of  real  civilization.  And  though  it 
is  not  so  long  in  the  history  of  the  Pacific  since  the  com- 
ing of  the  first  white  man,  there  is  already  an  interme- 
diate race  growing  up  which,  beginning  with  Samoa, 
spreads  northward  and  southward  and  all  around  as  far 
as  the  reaches  of  the  sea.  Nor  is  the  mixture  always  to 
be  deprecated. 

The  night  wore  on.  The  dancing  ceased.  Flushed 
faces  and  perspiring  forms  slipped  out  into  the  moon- 
light. The  white  collar  which  had  adorned  the  tuxedo  of 
the  clerk  was  now  brother  to  the  pajamas.  The  white 
men  who  had  tried  to  drown  their  objections  to  inter- 
marriage had  yielded  to  the  lure  of  the  pretty  half-caste 
maidens.  One  of  them  now  disappeared  with  his  * '  tart. ' ' 


244  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

A  traveling-salesman  from  Suva,  thin  and  wiry,  had 
been  in  dispute  with  a  new  civil  officer.  They  contra- 
dicted each  other  just  to  be  contrary.  The  officer  had 
a  wife  at  home  to  whom  he  was  bound  to  be  faithful  in 
matters  of  sex;  in  the  matter  of  spirits  he  could  not  be 
unfaithful,  since  in  that  all  the  world  is  one.  When  the 
two  of  them  and  I  left  the  party,  they  were  still  disputing 
the  question  of  intermarriage,  in  which  neither  believed 
but  on  which  both  had  pronounced  complexes. 

To  change  the  subject,  which  was  bordering  on  a  fight, 
I  asked:  "Why  do  the  palms  bend  out  toward  the  sea?" 

"Now,  what  difference  does  it  make  to  you?"  said  the 
salesman.  ' '  You  're  always  asking  why  this,  why  that  ? ' ' 

"Why  shouldn't  he?"  grumbled  the  officer,  more 
sober  and  more  intelligent. 

We  rambled  along.  The  salesman  soon  slipped  into 
his  hotel.  The  officer  and  I  wandered  toward  the  native 
village. 

"Strange,"  he  said,  somewhat  sobered  by  the  sea  air. 
"If  I  met  him  in  Auckland  I  wouldn't  speak  to  him. 
He  's  beneath  me." 

Free  and  easy  as  the  relationship  of  marriage  seems 
to  be  here,  one  not  infrequently  runs  across  descendants 
of  very  happy  and  desirable  unions.  I  had  gone  on  a 
little  motor  jaunt  with  some  of  the  men  of  the  British 
Club.  Our  way  was  along  the  road  the  natives  had  built 
in  gratitude  to  E.  L.  S.,  and  our  destination  the  home  of 
a  friend  of  his,  who  had  married  a  native  woman.  The 
house  was  of  European  construction,  solid  and  comfort- 
able, with  a  veranda  affording  a  view  of  the  open  sea. 
The  interior  was  in  every  way  as  typical  of  British  colo- 
nial life  as  any  I  later  saw  in  New  Zealand.  There 
were  photographs  on  the  wall,  hanging  shelves,  bric-a- 
brac,  a  piano, — all  importations  of  crude  Western 
manufactories. 

The  hosts  were  Euro-Polynesians ;  the  father  a  lawyer 
and  son  of  a  clergyman  of  Sydney,  Australia,  who  had 


HIS  TATTOOED  WIFE  245 

settled  in  the  islands  years  ago.  I  do  not  recall  whether, 
like  his  closest  friend,  Stevenson,  he  was  buried  on  the 
island,  but  certainly  he  left  by  no  means  unworthy  off- 
spring, whatever  prejudice  may  say. 

Thus,  in  the  mixture  of  emotions  often  sterile,  and  in 
the  bones  of  white  devotees  is  the  reunion  of  the  races 
of  these  regions  being  slowly  effected.  And  at  the  two 
extremities  of  the  Pacific — New  Zealand  and  Hawaii — we 
find  the  process  nearer  completion. 


In  the  journeys  to  and  fro  across  the  vast  spaces 
of  the  South  Pacific  one  rarely  meets  a  white  man  who 
takes  his  native  wife  with  him.  One  such  I  did  meet 
when  slipping  down  from  Hawaii  to  the  Fiji  Islands. 
There  were  two  couples  on  board  who  always  kept  more 
or  less  to  themselves,  two  rough-looking  white  men,  a 
white  woman,  and  one  who  for  all  I  could  tell  was  a  mid- 
dle-class Southern  European  woman.  She  wore  simple 
clothes, — a  blouse  hanging  over  her  skirt  and  comfort- 
able shoes.  She  was  in  no  sense  shy,  laughed  heartily, 
moved  about  with  a  self-conscious  air  of  importance, 
but  with  ease,  and  made  no  effort  to  hide  the  curving 
blue  lines  of  tattooing  that  decorated  her  chin.  She  was 
a  Maori  princess,  and  all  the  vigor  of  her  race  disported 
itself  in  the  supple  lines  of  her  figure. 

Her  husband,  Mr.  Webb,  however,  was  not  a  British 
prince.  Blunt  in  his  manners,  he  was  ultra-radical  in 
his  opinions, — a  proud  member  of  New  Zealand's  work- 
ing class.  Domineering  in  his  temperament  he  was,  but 
she  was  a  match  for  him.  It  was  obvious  that  she  had 
missed  in  her  native  training  any  lessons  in  subservience 
to  a  mere  husband.  She  spoke  a  clear,  broad,  fluent 
English  without  the  slightest  accent,  and  when  her  ex- 
tremely argumentative  husband  made  a  strong  point, 
she  gave  her  assent  in  no  mistaken  terms. 


246  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

At  table  she  was  more  mannerly  than  her  spouse, 
though  laboring  under  no  difficulties  whatever  in  the  ac- 
quisition of  food.  I  have  never  seen  a  person  more  self- 
possessed.  Her  royal  lineage  was  writ  large  in  her 
every  expression.  Though  out  on  deck  they  both  seemed 
somewhat  out  of  place  among  the  white  folk  and  pre- 
ferred a  corner  apart,  in  the  dining-room  they  were  kin 
to  all  men. 

I  found  them  both  extremely  interesting,  and  when 
the  usual  invitations  were  passed  round  for  a  continuance 
of  the  acquaintanceship  after  landing,  I  accepted  theirs 
more  readily  than  any  other.  Blunt  and  without  finesse 
as  they  were,  there  was  an  obvious  cordiality  and  virility 
in  their  manner,  and  no  man  alert  to  adventure  turns  so 
promising  an  offer  aside. 

Months  afterward  I  was  in  Auckland,  New  Zealand, 
and  made  myself  known  to  them.  Most  cordial  was  the 
reception  they  gave  me  when  I  stepped  upon  the  well- 
built  pier  that  jutted  out  into  the  inlet  from  the  little 
launch  that  brought  me  there.  Back  upon  the  knoll  stood 
Madame,  her  heavy  head  of  curly  hair  loose  about  her 
shoulders.  Her  very  being  greeted  me  with  welcome, 
firmness  of  foot  and  arm  and  calmness  of  poise  proclaim- 
ing her  nativity.  When  I  approached,  her  strong  hand 
grasped  mine,  her  face  beamed,  and  she  led  the  way  over 
the  grass-grown  path  to  the  porch  with  even  more  self- 
confidence  than  when  she  had  gone  to  her  seat  in  the 
saloon,  on  shipboard. 

Yet  it  was  no  saloon  they  led  me  into,  but  a  simple 
hollow-tile  structure  with  slate  roofing  and  plain  plas- 
tered walls.  Just  an  ordinary  four-roomed  house,  the 
haven  of  the  rising  pioneer.  There  were  no  decorations 
on  the  walls,  no  modern  equipment  of  any  kind,  not  even 
a  stove.  The  table  was  machine-turned,  the  chairs  ordi- 
nary, and  on  the  mantelpiece  stood  some  bleached  photo- 
graphs. My  hosts  went  about  in  their  bare  feet,  and 
otherwise  as  loosely  clad  as  the  early  November  spring 


HIS  TATTOOED  WIFE  247 

permitted.  They  prepared  their  meals  on  the  open  fire, 
and  the  menu  was  as  simple  as  anything  ever  offered 
me;  and  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  ate  boiled  eels, 
the  great  Maori  staple  and  delicacy.  Had  it  not  been 
for  the  emanation  of  her  genial  personality  and  his  vig- 
orous, breezy,  almost  hard  pleasure  in  my  presence,  I 
should  have  felt  chilled  in  that  habitation.  But  in  place 
of  things  was  sincere  welcome.  I  had  proof  of  that  that 
night,  for  I  was  placed  in  the  guest-room,  upon  a  soft, 
comfortable  bed,  while  my  hosts  themselves  spread  a 
mattress  on  the  floor  in  the  living-room.  Lest  I  misun- 
derstand, they  explained  that  it  was  their  custom,  Maori 
fashion,  to  sleep  on  the  floor,  as  they  preferred  the  hard 
support  to  that  of  the  yielding  spring. 

I  woke  next  morning  just  as  the  sun  peeped  over  the 
hill  directly  into  my  window.  It  was  a  sober  dawn, — 
just  a  healthy  flush  of  life,  with  crisp,  invigorating  air. 
One  branch  of  a  young  kauri  pine-tree  stretched  across 
the  rising  orb  like  nature  rousing  itself  from  sleep.  And 
in  the  other  room  I  could  hear  my  hosts  moving  quietly 
about,  preparing  breakfast. 

Without  word  of  warning  or  any  apparent  welcome, 
the  wife's  brother  and  his  young  bride  arrived.  It  was 
obvious  that  the  visit  was  no  unusual  occurrence.  They 
made  themselves  as  much  a  part  of  the  place  as  possible, 
and  were  ignored  by  the  white  man  and  his  Maori  wife 
as  though  they  were  servants.  Yet  they  were  both,  to 
me  at  least,  delightful.  He  was  broad-shouldered,  erect, 
rounded  of  limb  but  muscular, — as  handsome  a  boy  of 
twenty  as  I  have  ever  seen,  and  it  gave  one  joy  to  see 
him  mated  to  so  fine  a  girl.  Their  beings  vibrated  to 
each  other  with  the  joy  of  their  union. 

And  she  was  as  fine  a  mate  for  him.  Though  she  ac- 
centuated every  feature  of  her  sex,  it  was  with  the  joy 
of  fitness  for  him,  not  with  any  effort  to  be  alluring.  She 
wore  a  very  close  fitting  middy-blouse,  which  made  more 
firm  the  rounded  breasts  of  her  young  maidenhood.  She 


248  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

was  supple  and  plump  and  moved  with  litheness  and 
grace,  full  of  animal  spirits.  With  an  affected  air  she 
swung  about  to  the  step  of  an  American  rag,  and  every 
once  in  a  while  she  would  throw  herself  into  her  lover's 
arms,  and  take  a  turn  about  out  of  sheer  happiness.  It 
had  never  occurred  to  me  how  extremely  civilized  and 
not  primitive  our  rag-time  music  is  until  I  saw  these 
young  " savages"  affect  it.  But  however  ill-fitting  the 
tune  to  their  emotions,  there  was  something  absolutely 
natural  in  their  adoration  and  their  rushing  into  each 
other's  arms  which  no  amount  of  civilization  could 
tarnish. 

In  the  afternoon  they  went  digging  for  eels  in  the  mud 
of  the  inlet.  While  they  were  gone,  my  host  and  his  wife 
cleared  the  yard  of  overgrown  weeds  and  rubbish. 

"That  's  the  way  they  are,"  said  he.  "All  day  long 
they  dance  and  fool  away  their  time.  They  think  they  Ve 
done  a  lot  if  they  dig  for  eels  all  afternoon.  When  we 
went  away  to  Hawaii  we  left  them  to  look  after  our 
house  without  charging  them  any  rent.  This  is  what 
we  found  when  we  returned.  The  whole  place  was  over- 
grown with  weeds,  the  fences  were  broken  down,  the 
gates  were  off,  and  the  place  was  strewn  with  rubbish. 
They  don't  know  what  it  is  to  be  careful.  And  he 
struck  a  match  to  the  heap  of  weeds  he  and  his  wife  had 
gathered. 

Presently  the  two  lovers  returned  with  a  basket  full 
of  eels.  The  young  "housewife"  hung  her  catch  by  the 
tails  on  the  clothes-line  to  dry,  and  in  a  pail  of  clear 
water  washed  the  mud-suckers  they  had  gathered  as  by- 
product. Then  they  felt  they  were  entitled  to  rest. 

All  afternoon  until  late  evening  they  lay  upon  the 
spring  of  an  unused  matressless  bedstead,  which  stood 
upon  the  veranda.  Their  heads  were  at  the  opposite 
ends  of  the  bed.  He  kicked  his  feet  in  the  air,  but  every 
time  a  move  of  hers  showed  more  of  her  legs  than  he 
thought  proper,  he  pulled  down  her  tight  skirt.  He  held 


HIS  TATTOOED  WIFE  249* 

an  accordion  over  him  upon  which  he  played  a  medley  of 
airs,  while  she  whirled  a  soft  hat  with  her  fingers.  From 
their  throats  issued  a  fountain  of  song,  harmonious  only 
in  the  spirit  of  joy  which  inspired  it. 

So  far  they  might  just  as  well  have  been  guests  at  a 
hotel  for  all  the  attention  their  elders  paid  to  them.  We 
had  had  our  meals  by  ourselves.  They  were  simply  tol- 
erated. But  after  nightfall,  they  joined  their  relatives 
in  a  game  of  cards.  Every  move  provoked  a  burst  of 
laughter,  whether  successful  or  unsuccessful  to  the 
hilarious  one,  and  never  a  suggestion  of  strife  or  thought 
of  gain  was  manifest. 

The  Maories  are  more  sober  than  their  kinsmen  of  the 
upper  South  Seas.  Life  was  never  to  them  less  than  a 
serious  struggle.  I  daresay  they  are  happier  to-day 
than  they  were  in  their  own  time,  with  peace  and  pros- 
perity guaranteed  them.  But  that  is  problematical. 
Laughter  and  play  are  to-day  urgent  necessities.  The 
dances  and  games  that  were  native  to  them — when  not 
stimulated  by  some  social  event — do  not  come  to  them 
with  the  same  old  spontaneity.  It  took  considerable 
begging  on  my  part  and  nudging  from  Mr.  Webb  to 
persuade  the  women  to  show  me  a  native  dance.  Don- 
ning her  skirt  of  rushes,  Mrs.  Webb  stepped  into  the 
center  of  the  room,  giggling  all  the  while,  and  insisting 
that  her  sister-in-law  dance  with  her.  The  latter  took  a 
stick  in  her  hand  and  they  began.  But  after  two  or 
three  movements  they  doubled  over  with  laughter,  and 
faltered.  I  kept  urging  them  on.  At  last  they  caught 
the  spirit  of  it,  and  for  a  few  minutes  they  were  as  though 
possessed.  Their  movements,  mainly  of  the  hands  and 
hips,  were  not  unlike  those  of  the  geisha  dances  of  Japan. 
They  kept  them  up  for  fifteen  minutes.  Suddenly  they 
stopped,  as  though  struck  self-conscious,  almost  as  a 
modest  girl  who  had  wakened  from  a  somnambulant 
journey  in  her  nightgown.  They  slipped  into  chairs, 
and  were  silent.  Then  for  about  half  an  hour  they  sat 


250  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

'  'yarning"  soberly  before  the  hearth  fire.  And  some- 
thing sad  seemed  to  creep  away  up  the  chimney. 

The  two  young  lovers  decided  they  would  take  a  bath, 
and  went  into  another  chamber  to  heat  the  water.  My 
bed  was  spread  for  me ;  the  hosts  unrolled  the  mattress 
which  had  been  lying  in  the  corner  on  the  floor  all  day. 
"We  retired.  Then  from  the  other  room  came  sounds  of 
hilarious  laughter,  the  splashing  of  water  in  the  tub,  and 
the  slapping  of  naked  wet  flesh.  It  kept  up  for  hours, 
long  after  midnight.  When  silence  finally  reigned  over 
the  household,  an  adorably  cool  moon  peeped  in  at  our 
windows,  and  I  knew  that  the  two  lovers  in  the  room 
next  mine  were  at  last  overcome  by  the  conspiracy  of 
moonlight  and  fatigue. 

"Did  you  hear  those  mad  Maories?"  said  Mr.  Webb 
to  me  the  first  thing  in  the  morning.  '  *  Such  mad  things ! 
To  keep  the  whole  house  awake  till  long  after  midnight !" 
Then  he,  too,  seemed  to  become  self-conscious.  Was  n  't 
he  passing  reflections  on  the  tribe  of  his  wife?  We 
strolled  out  into  the  fields.  He  seemed  to  feel  the  neces- 
sity of  an  explanation.  Among  his  people,  the  white 
folk,  though  he  was  not  ostracized  for  having  taken  a 
native  wife  (for  it  is  common  enough),  still  it  did  lower 
one  in  the  social  scale.  I  steered  the  conversation  round 
till  he  himself  spoke  of  it.  He  referred  to  his  wife, 
somewhat  soberly.  "I  like  her  and  am  satisfied  with 
her.  She  's  a  good  woman."  And  during  the  whole  of 
my  visit  I  saw  nothing  to  indicate  that  their  marriage 
was  not  a  success.  She  was  tidy,  thrifty,  and  compan- 
ionable. He  always  treated  her  with  respect  and  affec- 
tion, though  once  or  twice  with  undue  firmness.  But  she 
always  stood  her  ground  with  dignity  and  good-nature. 
When  he  poked  kindly  fun  at  some  photographs  of  her, 
she  smiled  and  winked  at  me.  Then  she  said  of  a  picture 
taken  of  him  on  the  beach:  "I  wouldn't  lose  it  for  all 
the  world,  just  for  his  sake." 

By  way  of  apology  for  the  absence  of  more  furnish- 


HIS  TATTOOED  WIFE  251 

ings,  they  explained  that  they  had  sold  out;  they  were 
tired  of  labor  conditions  in  New  Zealand,  of  the  too  great 
closeness  to  the  " tribe"  and  in  consequence  had  paid  a 
visit  to  Hawaii,  where  they  bought  a  plantation.  Thither 
they  went  shortly  afterward,  the  Briton  and  his  Maori 
wife,  he  to  mix  with  his  European  cousins,  she  with  her 
Polynesian  kinsfolk,  and  a  more  general  reunion,  after 
centuries  of  separation,  consummated. 

Not  the  least  lovable  among  the  fifty-seven  blends  of 
humanity  that  make  up  the  inhabitants  of  the  South 
Seas  and  the  Pacific  are  these  Maories  and  their  half- 
brothers  and  sisters. 


From  a  Member  of  Parliament  I  had  received  several 
letters  of  introduction,  one  of  which  was  to  the  famous 
Dr.  Pomare,  the  native  M.  P.  who  represented  native 
interests  in  the  Dominion 's  parliament.  When  I  arrived 
at  Wellington,  the  capital,  I  presented  myself  at  his 
office  and  was  received  by  a  most  genial,  well-spoken, 
widely  read  individual  whose  tongue  would  have  enter- 
tained the  most  sophisticated  of  European  gatherings. 
There  was  hardly  a  subject  we  touched  in  which  he  was 
not  well  versed,  and  his  native  qualities  rang  out  in 
intermittent  bursts  of  laughter  such  as  only  a  healthy- 
minded  and  healthy-bodied  individual  could  indulge  in. 
When  we  began  to  discuss  the  question  of  the  virtues 
and  vices  of  his  native  race,  the  Maories,  he  assured  me : 

'  *  Oh,  we  're  just  like  any  people.  There  are  good  and 
bad  amongst  us.  Some  of  our  people  will  sell  their 
lands,  if  they  can,  and  buy  an  automobile  which  they  run 
madly  about  and  then  leave  in  an  open  plot  in  ruin.  On 
the  other  hand,  one  of  our  women  has  been  very  clever 
with  her  property,  has  sold  it  off,  and  invested  her  money 
in  stocks  so  that  to-day  she  owns  the  greatest  number  of 
shares  in  the  Wellington  tram  lines.  So  you  see  we  are 
just  like  other  people." 


252  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

And  so  it  is.  But  there  is  a  slight  exception,  for  I 
have  heard  from  every  one  that  the  tendency  to  revert 
to  type  is  very  great,  and  that  one  of  the  wealthiest 
native  woman  in  the  Dominion  will  frequently  leave  her 
mansion,  her  jewels,  her  limousine,  her  fine  clothes,  and 
spend  a  time  in  a  Maori  pah,  eating  eels  in  the  good  old 
native  way. 

But  such  reversions  cannot  last  long.  Despite  that 
drift,  there  are  indications  of  a  racial  recrudescence 
through  the  half-castes,  a  tendency  noticed  by  students 
of  the  primitive  peoples  throughout  the  Pacific.  Hope 
for  the  Maories  is  in  the  younger  elements  who  have  that 
happy  mixture  in  them,  called  Pakeha-Maori.  Visiting 
a  class  of  young  women  in  a  commercial  school  in  Dune- 
din  I  noticed  among  them  one  whose  dark  face  and  black 
eyes  were  full  of  a  certain  wicked  fascination.  She  was 
as  bright  and  alert  as  any  member  of  the  class.  And 
when  I  spoke  of  her  to  the  head  of  the  school,  he  said, 
"Oh,  that  little  half-caste  girl."  I  should  not  have 
known  it. 

One  does  not  like  to  be  too  enthusiastic,  but  if  these 
savage  Polynesians  can  in  the  course  of  three  genera- 
tions, and  with  the  aid  of  a  slight  mixture,  change  from 
fierce  cannibalism  to  something  as  sweet  and  lovable  as 
this,  there  is  indeed  great  hope  for  them.  What  though 
the  prejudiced  assure  you  that,  however  far  the  mixture 
may  have  gone,  it  reveals  itself  in  a  tendency  to  squat 
when  least  expected?  There  is  in  the  most  civilized  of 
us  still  enough  of  the  savage  strain  to  make  us  wary  of 
carrying  our  aversions  too  far. 

Doubtless  the  Britons  of  New  Zealand  would  enter 
any  debate  with  the  Americans  of  Hawaii  as  to  which  is 
the  superior  people,  the  Maories  or  the  Hawaiians.  For 
our  own  peace  of  mind  let  us  accept  their  Polynesian 
kinship  at  the  outset.  Both  are  worth  saving  as  sepa- 
rate races  or  in  mixture  with  others. 

The  Maori  M.  P.,  the  rebellious  priest,  Eua,  later  re- 


HIS  TATTOOED  WIFE  253 

leased  from  prison,  the  Hawaiian  clerk  in  the  throne- 
room,  the  Fijian  chief  turned  governor,  the  Samoan  chief 
in  pajamas  who,  with  the  customs  officials,  boarded  the 
steamer  anchored  beyond  the  reefs,  and  Mrs.  Webb,  the 
princess, — all  these  are  natives  playing  the  new  part  al- 
lotted to  them  in  this  strange  new  world. 

Thus  slowly,  into  the  life  and  fabric  of  the  South  Seas, 
is  coming  this  consciousness  of  rebirth.  It  is  a  new 
class,  a  new  race.  Not  the  Eurasians,  scorned  by  the 
white  and  the  superior  Asiatics, — but  the  reverse.  Half- 
caste,  but  the  proud  possessors  of  the  virtues  of  the 
natives,  with  the  strength  and  superiority  of  the  white; 
half-caste  in  blood  but  not  always  so  in  spirit. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

GIVING  HEARTS  A  NEW  CHANGE 


CASUAL,  impermanent,  or  broken  as  these  unions 
hitherto  have  been,  their  cyclonic  process  of  attrac- 
tion and  repulsion  has  created  a  suction  drawing  in  both 
good  and  evil.  The  white  sailor  and  vagabond  who  rav- 
ished the  brown  maiden  never  intended  to  father  the  con- 
sequences. But  gradually,  as  communication  increased 
and  mutual  interests  developed,  greater  stability  entered 
into  the  relations  of  the  races.  Marital  contracts  became 
necessary  and,  from  the  point  of  view  of  property  and 
other  acquisitions,  even  desirable.  Readjustment  of  con- 
ceptions of  sex  grew  urgent.  This  entailed  the  comple- 
ment, divorce. 

From  all  corners  of  the  world  came  people  whose 
notions  of  man 's  relations  with  woman  were  as  divergent 
as  the  seas.  The  Japanese  and  Chinese  brought  their 
Oriental  attitude  toward  women ;  the  American  his  Occi- 
dental. Besides,  with  the  passing  of  native  control, 
European  nations  superimposed  European  regulations 
upon  the  islands.  We  have,  then,  the  introduction  of 
legalism  into  the  casual  affairs  of  the  tropics,  and  the 
vanishing  of  primitive  license.  We  have  the  Japanese 
woman,  subject  to  the  control  of  her  husband,  finding 
herself  protected  by  the  laws  of  another  race.  These 
raise  her  status  and  her  self-respect.  She  rebels  against 
unpleasant  sex-unions.  Divorce  in  these  conglomerate 
regions,  therefore,  means  the  idealization  of  sex,  rais- 
ing it  above  the  stage  of  animal  possession  and  material 
interest;  based  upon  the  sense  of  justice  to  woman,  it 
recreates  marriage,  makes  decent  unions  possible. 

254 


GIVING  HEARTS  A  NEW  CHANCE        255 

Hence,  in  the  wake  of  queer  marriages  we  see  even 
more  queer  divorces,  as  though  hearts,  having  become 
self-conscious,  seek  a  new  chance.  As  age  mellows  racial 
associations,  we  find  that  men's  hearts  the  world  over 
beat  as  one,  and  relationships  which  are  at  all  compatible 
seek  permanency,  if  not  " normalcy." 

It  was  easy  enough  for  a  wanderer  or  a  few  hundred 
traders  and  romancers  to  leave  their  imprint  on  the 
native  races.  It  is  another  matter  when  the  native  races 
are  overwhelmed  by  a  hundred  thousand  aliens  of 
twenty-odd  races,  and  the  work  of  amalgamation  falls 
to  the  lot  of  the  white  man.  An  altogether  new  problem 
manifests  itself, — not  only  that  of  bringing  them  together 
in  a  legal  and  permanent  manner,  but  of  separating  such 
types  and  individuals  as  cannot  work  for  the  betterment 
of  the  new  race. 

Throughout  the  Pacific  already  reviewed,  the  mixture 
is  as  yet  essentially  accidental  and  occasional.  But  in 
no  spot  in  the  Pacific  has  the  problem  assumed  such  seri- 
ous proportions  as  in  Hawaii,  where,  added  to  the  great 
diversity  of  conglomerations,  comes  the  factor  of  white 
and  Asiatic  superiority  in  number.  As  we  have  seen, 
the  infusion  of  this  flood  of  foreign  blood  into  the  thin 
native  element  has  fairly  swamped  it.  This  jungle  of 
humanity  seems  at  first  sight  utterly  beyond  cultural 
purification.  The  streets  throb  with  such  multiplicity  of 
little  ways  that  one  feels  bewildered.  One  has  to  snatch 
a  sample  of  the  life  and  place  it  beneath  the  magnifying- 
glass  of  tradition  and  code  to  be  able  to  separate  it  from 
the  whole.  And  that  I  did  one  day  in  Honolulu. 

The  sun  was  pouring  down  in  veritable  splutters  of 
softness  and  mellowness.  It  was  warm  in  an  all-embrac- 
ing tenderness  of  warmth.  To  be  in  the  shade  with 
another  human  being  was  here  as  unifying  in  spirit  as 
sitting  before  an  open  fire  is  on  a  blizzardy  day  in  the 
North.  And  on  such  a  day  I  entered  the  court-room  of 
Honolulu.  The  dusty  tread  of  people  from  every  land 


256  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

has  sounded  across  this  court-house  floor  and  all  the 
simple  tragedies  of  life  with  their  hoarse  warnings  have 
been  enacted  within  its  walls.  Hundreds  of  disappointed 
men  and  women  have  come  into  that  room  hoping  to  have 
their  lives  straightened  out,  their  affections  given  a  new 
chance. 

When  I  entered,  the  court-room  was  empty.  A  mas- 
sive Hawaiian  looked  in,  and  walked  away.  Then  a  thin 
white  man  approached  and,  when  he  learned  what  brought 
me,  he  sat  down  on  one  of  the  wooden  benches  to  talk  to 
me.  It  was  Judge  William  L.  Whitney,  who  died  in  New 
York  just  recently. 

Presently,  an  emaciated-looking  Chinese  entered  and 
sat  down  to  wait.  A  small,  wrinkled,  sallow  little  woman 
from  the  Celestial  Republic,  accompanied  by  a  com- 
patriot, came  in  after  him,  and  seated  herself  a  little 
distance  away.  Then  came  the  fat  Hawaiian  again  who 
had  peered  in  earlier,  and  with  that  everything  seemed 
in  order.  Judge  Whitney  left  me,  approached  the  bench, 
and,  though  he  wore  only  his  ordinary  street  clothes,  he 
was  forthwith  crowned  with  the  halo  of  his  office. 

The  proceedings  began.  Proceedings  in  this  case 
meant  great  round  eyes  rolling  in  tremendous  sockets,  a 
tongue  free  with  the  dialects  and  linguistics  of  every 
mixture,  and  a  temperament  free  from  ambition  or  guile. 
The  judge  could  speak  no  Chinese,  the  respondents  could 
speak  no  English,  the  witnesses  (of  whom  two  strayed  in 
later)  could  speak  neither  English  nor  Chinese, — and  so 
among  them  the  Hawaiian  interpreter  had  all  the  fun  to 
himself.  Hie  was  in  reality  the  dispenser  of  justice. 

The  case  was  rehearsed.  The  Chinese  was  suing  his 
wife  for  divorce. 

"  Where  were  you  when  you  saw  this  man  kiss  your 
wife?"  asked  the  judge. 

The  interpreter  took  up  the  question  in  Chinese  as 
though  the  language  were  part  of  his  inheritance,  and 


GIVING  HEARTS  A  NEW  CHANCE        257 

after  the  Chinese  spoke,  back  came  the  reply  through 
the  lips  of  the  Hawaiian,  but  in  the  first  person. 

"I  was  in  the  garden.  When  I  looked  up  into  our  bed- 
room I  saw  this  man  kiss  my  wife." 

The  evidence  was  vague.  To  John  Chinaman  it  meant 
more  than  a  few  facts,  for  his  wife  had  borne  him  no  off- 
spring. What  a  timid-daring  attempt  to  reach  out  for 
new  life !  At  home  he  would  just  have  dismissed  her,  but 
here  it  was  different.  Yet  from  their  appearance  it  was 
doubtful  that  either  of  them  would  ever  have  the  courage 
to  try  to  live  life  over. 

This  was  only  one  of  the  many  entangled  lives  that 
came  to  be  straightened  out  in  Hawaii.  There  are  more 
than  forty-seven  different  combinations  of  races  there, 
such  as  American  and  American,  German  and  German, 
Korean  and  Korean,  Eussian  and  Russian,  Spanish- 
Marshall  and  English,  Half-Hawaiian  and  Chinese- 
Hawaiian,  Hawaiian  and  Chinese-Hawaiian,  Hawaiian 
and  Hawaiian-Portuguese,  Chinese  and  Chinese,  Ha- 
waiian and  Hawaiian,  Portuguese  and  Portuguese,  Span- 
ish and  Spanish,  Spanish-Hawaiian  and  Spanish- 
Hawaiian,  Portuguese  and  Creole-Spanish-Portuguese, 
Chinese  and  Irish,  American  and  Half -Hawaiian,  Portu- 
guese and  Pole,  Half-Hawaiian  and  Half-Hawaiian, 
American  and  Hawaiian-Chinese,  English  and  Half- 
Hawaiian,  Japanese  and  American,  American-Japanese 
and  Japanese,  Half-Hawaiian  and  German,  Portuguese 
and  Hawaiian,  German  and  Irish,  Hawaiian-Chinese  and 
Spanish-Italian,  Portuguese  and  Hawaiian-Chinese, 
Half-Hawaiian  and  Spanish,  Porto-Rican  and  Porto- 
Rican,  Oginawa  and  Oginawa,  French-Porto-Rican  and 
Porto-Rican,  Swede  and  Portuguese,  English  and  Eng- 
lish, Hawaiian  and  Chinese,  American  and  French- 
Spanish,  Portuguese  and  Japanese,  American-Por- 
tuguese and  German-Irish,  Portuguese-Hawaiian  and 
Portuguese,  Portuguese  and  German-Irish,  Portuguese- 
Hawaiian  and  Portuguese,  Portuguese-Irish  and  Hawai- 


258  THE  PACIFIC  TEIANGLE 

ian,  Hawaiian  and  American-Negro,  Portuguese-Hawai- 
ian-Chinese  and  Chinese.  And  I  am  certain  that  I  can 
add  another,  that  of  my  New  Zealand  acquaintance  and 
his  Maori  wife. 

They  are  but  one  phase  of  the  whole  problem  of  the 
mixture  of  races  and  the  melting  of  their  silvers  and 
bronzes  down  to  the  human  essence  within  them.  For 
there  were  in  Judge  Whitney's  time  on  an  average  of 
two  hundred  and  thirty  couples  divorced  under  that  ceil- 
ing every  year.  Figures  make  human  facts  seem  so  re- 
mote that  I  hate  to  use  them.  As  soon  as  figures  are 
quoted  the  individuals  lose  their  identity.  That  which  is 
living  and  real  becomes,  as  it  were,  an  astronomical  cal- 
culation and  one  might  as  well  talk  of  stars.  But  the 
figures  of  the  divorces  in  Hawaii  are  in  themselves  a 
living  thing,  as  they  interpret  the  life  there  more  than 
words  could  do;  so  I'll  risk  giving  a  few  of  the  figures 
Judge  Whitney  published  while  I  was  in  Honolulu. 

The  Japanese  contributed  49%  of  the  divorces  in 
Hawaii,  though  they  comprise  only  34%  of  the  popula- 
tion; the  Americans,  7%,  though  they  were  8%  of  the 
population.  The  rest  were  distributed  among  the  other 
nationalities.  This  is  how  those  statistics  compared 
with  divorce  statistics  in  other  countries.  There  were 
in  England  out  of  every  hundred  thousand  inhabitants, 
two  divorces  per  year;  in  Austria,  one;  in  Norway,  six; 
in  Sweden,  eight;  in  Italy,  three;  in  Denmark,  seventeen; 
in  Germany,  twenty- three ;  and  in  France,  the  same;  in 
the  United  States,  seventy-three;  and  in  the  island  of 
Oahu  (Honolulu),  four  hundred. 

Hundreds  of  little  folk,  a  host  of  children,  have  passed 
out  of  that  room  either  fatherless  or  motherless.  Back 
in  the  lands  which  they  might  have  called  home  it  would 
not  have  happened  in  just  this  way,  or  having  happened 
so,  it  would  not  have  had  the  same  tragic  meaning.  For 
in  Oriental  countries  fathers  frequently  put  the  mothers 
of  their  children  aside.  Yet,  somehow  the  tragedies  do 


GIVING  HEARTS  A  NEW  CHANCE        259 

not  fret  and  strut  in  such  distorted  ways  in  lands  where 
distortion  is  much  more  common,  as  in  the  East.  In  most 
Oriental  countries  it  is  enough  for  a  man  to  say  his  wife 
talks  too  much  and  declare  her  divorced,  but  when  he 
comes  to  the  half-way  house,  Hawaii,  he  must  be  cruel, 
extremely  cruel  to  his  wife  before  the  law  will  grant  him 
a  divorce.  So  he  is  "cruel"  in  a  way  he  may  be  sure  will 
secure  his  freedom. 


What  the  results  of  all  these  mixtures  will  be,  no  one 
can  as  yet  tell,  but  the  consensus  of  opinion  gives  the 
Chinese-Hawaiian  the  prize  for  superiority.  However 
promiscuous  other  races  may  be,  the  Japanese  seldom 
stoops  to  conquer  in  that  way.  The  maiden  of  Japan 
shares  with  the  white  woman  an  aversion  for  these  stran- 
gers in  Hawaii,  though  the  number  of  Japanese  women 
who  marry  white  men  is  far  greater  than  that  of  white 
women  marrying  into  any  of  the  races  in  the  Pacific. 

One  of  the  most  prolific  causes  of  divorce  in  Hawaii 
has  been  the  so-called  "picture  bride.'*  Because  of  the 
exclusion  of  Asiatic  laborers,  few  Japanese  and  Chinese 
women  have  been  born  in  the  island.  But  because  of  their 
preference  for  their  own  women,  Japanese  sent  home  for 
wives.  To  get  round  the  exclusion  laws,  they  stretched 
the  home  process  a  bit,  selected  by  photograph  the  girls 
they  wished,  had  themselves  married  by  proxy  (a  method 
recognized  in  Japan  as  legal),  and  then  simply  sent  for 
their  "wives."  Aside  from  the  subsequent  divorces 
which  very  frequently  ensued,  there  have  been  cases  not 
without  their  humorous  sides. 

One  story  was  told  that  must  be  accepted  with  caution. 

Mr.  Goto,  who  just  a  short  while  ago  was  Goto  San, 
wants  a  wife.  He  sees  a  go-between  who  secures  for  him 
the  pictures  of  some  girls  of  his  own  district.  He  makes 
his  selection  and  the  process  of  marriage  is  accomplished. 


260  THE  PACIFIC  TEIANGLE 

"With  something  little  short  of  glee,  he  waits  the  maid's 
arrival. 

She  comes.  But  alas,  not  alone !  Mr.  Goto  waits  with 
others  at  the  pier.  Everybody  is  blessed  but  him.  Chagrin 
and  impatience  battle  in  his  heart.  Nearly  everybody 
has  been  supplied  with  a  wife.  There  are  only  two  women 
left.  Neither  seems  to  be  the  one  he  married.  Goto 
thinks, — thinks  rapidly.  "Who  will  ever  know  the  differ- 
ence? He  claims  the  prettier;  she  accepts  him,  and  off 
they  dash  on  their  honeymoon,  a  la  Occident,  a  two-day 
trip  round  the  island  of  Oahu  in  a  motor-car.  And  never 
were  nuptials  more  satisfactory. 

In  the  meantime  Fujimoto  San  comes  rushing  up  pell- 
mell.  His  garage  business  has  kept  him.  He  finds  a 
lone  girl,  but  she  does  not  tally  with  the  reproduction 
he  married.  "Not  so  nice,"  is  the  first  thought  that 
flashes  across  his  brain.  " Little  too  broad  in  the  nose, 
lips  thicker  than  those  on  the  photograph.  Can  I  mis- 
take?" But  she  is  the  only  one  left.  He  bows  at  least 
a  half-dozen  times,  bows  clean  over,  half-way  to  the 
ground,  but  alas!  every  time  his  head  bobs  up  he  sees 
the  same  disheartening  face,  a  face  he  never  ordered,  a 
face  he  cannot  accept.  He  must  clear  up  the  mystery. 
He  calls  the  agent.  Investigations  reveal  that  Goto  was 
there  ahead  of  him ;  so  Fujimoto  sets  out  on  a  chase  after 
the  honeymoon  pair.  It  ends  in  Honolulu  two  days  later, 
and  another  divorce  case  comes  up  in  court. 

The  ''picture  bride"  is  now  a  thing  of  the  past,  as  the 
Japanese  Government  has  agreed  to  deny  her  a  pass- 
port in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  our  treaty  with 
Japan.  From  the  point  of  view  of  immigration,  this  may 
be  a  solution ;  but  there  is  a  phase  of  the  problem  of  the 
mixture  of  races  in  Hawaii  I  have  never  yet  seen  dis- 
cussed,— that  is,  the  woman.  In  the  case  of  the  Japanese 
woman,  much  more  than  in  that  of  the  man,  entrance  to 
Hawaii  or  America  is  freedom  such  as  has  never  been 
known  before.  At  home  she  has  been  taught  obedience 


GIVING  HEARTS  A  NEW  CHANCE        261 

and  deference  to  her  husband.  There  are  many  others 
ready  to  accept  that  burden  if  she  is  unwilling.  But  in 
Hawaii,  where  there  are  so  many  Japanese  seeking  wives 
and  where  she  moves  among  peoples  whose  standards  are 
an  inversion  of  everything  she  has  been  taught  to  regard 
as  virtuous  and  feminine,  she  finds  herself  in  an  alto- 
gether different  position.  On  the  streets  she  sees  many 
white  women  treated  with  courtesy ;  in  the  courts  women 
receive  even  more  sympathy  than  men, — to  her  an 
unheard-of  thing.  And  so  we  find  that  when  all  the 
divorces  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  have  been  tabulated, 
these  little  timid  creatures  of  Japan  have  been  embold- 
ened to  the  extent  of  deserting  their  husbands  in  veritable 
shoals,  making  up  90  %  of  the  entire  number  of  Japanese 
divorces.  It  is  a  scramble  for  readjustment  of  conjugal 
relations  based  on  something  nearer  emotional  equality. 

But  where  do  the  Hawaiians  come  in  ?  will  be  asked  in 
all  reason.  They  are  virtually  no  more.  Of  the  entire 
race  which  at  the  time  of  their  discovery  by  Captain  Cook 
numbered  some  130,000  to  300,000,  only  a  few  thousand 
are  left.  At  the  time  of  the  annexation  of  Hawaii  by 
America  (1898)  there  were  some  31,000  Hawaiians  of 
pure  blood,  or  about  28%  of  the  population.  Of  Orien- 
tals there  was  about  42%  of  the  population,  with  24,400 
Japanese  and  21,600  Chinese.  Then  there  were  15,191 
Portuguese,  2,250  Britons,  1,437  Germans,  8,400  Ameri- 
cans, 1,479  Norwegians,  French  and  others  combined. 
Already  there  were  8,400  part-Hawaiian.  From  the  rul- 
ers down  there  was  a  free  mixture,  even  the  queen  had  a 
white  spouse.  Some  of  the  best  types  of  Hawaiian 
women  had  been  married  by  men  of  fine  caliber,  unlike 
almost  any  other  place  in  the  Pacific.  The  relationships 
were  of  a  permanent  nature,  for,  as  the  governmental 
report  in  connection  with  annexation  stated : 

The  Hawaiians  are  not  Africans,  but  Polynesians.  They  are  brown, 
not  black.  There  has  never  been  and  there  is  not  any  color  line  in 
Hawaii  as  against  native  Hawaiian,  and  they  participate  fully  and  on 


P262  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

an  equality  with  the  white  people  in  affairs,  political,  social,  religious, 
and  charitable.  The  two  races  freely  intermarry  one  with  the  other, 
the  results  being  shown  in  a  population  of  some  7,000  of  mixed  blood. 
They  are  a  race  which  will  in  the  future,  as  they  have  in  the  past, 
easily  and  rapidly  assimilate  with  and  adopt  American  ways  and 
methods. 

3 

In  defiance  of  prejudice,  intermarriage  between  the 
races  in  the  Pacific  is  taking  place.  What  the  result  is 
to  be,  no  one  as  yet  knows  definitely.  The  number  of 
white  men  legalizing  their  relations  with  native  women 
is  large.  The  tropics  are  veritable  whispering-galleries 
sounding  the  stories  of  men  who  have  returned  to  keep 
their  promises  even  after  they  have  been  despatched 
from  the  islands  under  the  influence  of  the  cup  so  as  to 
prevent  their  marrying.  In  the  mid-Pacific,  in  the 
South  Seas,  in  the  Far  East,  white  men  are  marrying 
native  women,  even  in  cases  where  these  have  been  their 
mistresses  for  years. 

In  Japan,  many  leading  white  men  have  married 
Japanese  women,  among  whom  the  most  celebrated  has 
been  Lafcadio  Hearn.  The  list  is  long.  In  the  ports, 
many  foreigners  have  married  Japanese  women,  and 
though  there  is  a  strong  feeling  against  it  socially, 
discrimination  is  not  universal.  The  French  and  the 
British  are  not  nearly  so  fastidious  in  these  matters  as 
are  the  Americans  and  the  Japanese.  Wherever  there 
is  outward  opposition,  it  comes  from  the  Japanese  side 
as  well  as  from  the  white.  Japanese  complain  against 
discrimination  here,  but  we  are  received  with  no  more 
open  arms  by  them  in  Japan, 

The  girl  from  Japan  coming  to  the  West  is  by  virtue 
of  her  immigration  alone  to  some  extent  emancipated; 
but  to  the  white  woman  turning  her  steps  east  there  is 
only  the  emancipation,  in  part,  from  drudgery  by  means 
of  ample  servants.  To  the  white  woman  who  goes  a 
step  farther  and  links  herself  in  marriage  with  a  Japa- 


GIVING  HEARTS  A  NEW  CHANCE        263 

nese  or  Chinese  there  is  in  the  majority  of  cases  only 
sorrow,  soreness  of  heart,  isolation,  and  regret.  It  is 
not  that  she  might  not  be  happy  with  the  individual  Orien- 
tal, but  in  the  East  she  becomes  part  of  a  vicious  family 
system  that  strangles  her  individuality.  Though  the  maid 
of  Japan  is  not  over-welcome  in  the  West,  as  the  wife  of  a 
white  man  she  comes  into  a  higher  plane  of  life.  By  no 
means  is  that  true  in  the  case  of  the  white  woman  in 
the  East.  There  are  too  many  cases,  still  warm  with 
regret,  to  be  named  in  proof  of  the  statement.  I  have 
come  across  several  cases  of  American  girls  who  had 
married  Japanese  and  returned  with  them  to  Japan. 
They  were  content  enough  with  their  husbands,  but  their 
position  in  the  Japanese  home  was  intolerable.  I  remem- 
ber the  loneliness  of  a  New  York  girl  who  had  gone  to 
live  in  Kyoto.  The  contemptuous  way  in  which  some 
notable  Japanese  looked  at  their  countryman  'a  white  wife 
was  only  comparable  to  the  treatment  she  would  have 
received  here.  The  children,  born  in  the  same  labor,  are 
not  respected  as  are  either  "pure"  Japanese  or  white. 
The  Eurasian  is  frequently  disqualified.  The  white 
father  regrets  that  his  children  are  not  Aryan  as  did 
Lafcadio  Hearn. 

This  is  no  attempt  to  make  out  a  case  for  the  mixture 
of  natives  and  white  in  the  Pacific.  There  are  not  enough 
facts  at  hand.  Unfortunately,  for  the  next  few  hundred 
years  tha  differences  between  the  peoples  living  on  the 
borders  of  the  Pacific  will  continue  to  irritate,  and  experi- 
ments in  blood-mixture  will  probably  be  tried  externally. 
I  have  only  mobilized  such  incidents  as  have  come  within 
my  own  personal  observation  that  will  take  the  problem 
out  of  the  cold,  statistical  plane.  It  is  with  human  flesh 
and  blood,  human  hearts  and  affections,  human  gropings 
and  aspirations  that  we  are  dealing, — not  with  the  con- 
flicts of  imaginary  hordes  and  with  terrifying  invasions. 

To  me,  the  human  elements  in  Honolulu  and  through- 
out the  Pacific  remain  a  memory  of  one  perpetual  stirring 


264  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

of  sounds,  colors,  and  desires.  The  whole  is  not  confus- 
ing, for  it  is  outside  one 's  consciousness.  In  a  sense  it  is 
an  inverted  world  consciousness.  Instead  of  nationals 
thinking  outward,  they  have  come  together  and  are  think- 
ing inward,  recognizing  themselves  as  part  of  some 
whole.  Eventually,  after  all  the  races  in  the  Pacific  have 
been  mixed  more  or  less,  or  have  proved  mixture  impos- 
sible, they  will  find  some  way  in  which  they  can  dwell  at 
one  another's  elbows  without  nudging.  The  mixture 
may  even  assume  an  appearance  of  unity.  The  color 
scheme,  like  a  thorough  blending  of  all  the  colors  of 
the  spectrum,  may  yet  become  white. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

"THIS  LJTTI/E  PIG  WENT  TO  MABKEl" 


THE  basket  was  growing  heavier  and  heavier,  and 
his  stomach  weaker  and  weaker.  How  to  convert 
his  burden  into  a  meal  was  a  problem,  written  as  large 
upon  his  face  as  the  delight  in  the  bargains  he  was  mak- 
ing shone  in  the  face  of  the  marketer  beside  him.  He 
was  a  young  chap  just  emerging  from  boyhood.  He  had 
been  employed  by  this  restaurant-keeper  because  he  said 
he  needed  a  meal.  It  was  not  to  be  a  real  job.  He  was 
to  get  his  meal  all  right,  but  not  till  he  earned  it  by 
going  with  the  boss  to  market  and  carrying  his  basket 
for  him. 

The  basket  was  soon  full  to  overflowing,  and  the 
young  man  bearing  it  was  nigh  exhaustion.  They  were 
now  going  home.  At  the  corner  of  the  open  square  that 
had  been  assigned  to  garden-truck  venders  the  old 
man  stopped  to  buy  a  rose.  He  disputed  the  price 
with  the  flower-girl,  got  it  at  a  reduction,  and  went  on. 
"I  always  bring  my  wife  a  rose  from  market,"  he 
remarked  in  semi-soliloquy,  and  they  disappeared,  the 
young  fellow  with  his  burden,  the  old  man  with  his  rose. 

Thus  does  the  European  little  pig  go  to  market,  and 
he  's  the  most  civilized  little  pig  in  the  world.  For  hun- 
dreds of  years  he  has  been  learning  to  market,  and  that 
most  essential  of  social  functions  is  the  progenitor  of 
communal  life.  The  way  in  which  it  is  performed  is  a 
test  of  the  civilization  of  a  people. 

The  first  democrats  and  artists  of  Europe,  the  Greeks, 

200 


266  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

knew  this,  and  made  the  agora  a  market-place,  a  focus 
of  public  art,  and  the  scene  of  their  political  gatherings. 
Wretched,  indeed,  was  the  little  pig  that  stayed  home 
when  the  agora  was  convoked,  for  he  it  was  whom  the 
Greeks  had  determined  to  ostracize.  Despite  their 
efforts  as  democrats,  there  were  only  too  many  who 
had  to  stay  home  when  the  affairs  of  that  world  were 
being  decided ;  but  as  a  market,  with  all  the  architectural 
genius  concentrated  on  making  it  attractive  and  beauti- 
ful, and  Socrates  leading  his  classes  through  it,  it  was  a 
certain  success. 

In  the  ruder  parts  of  Europe,  owing  to  the  absence 
of  means  of  communication  and  the  dangers  of  carrying 
one's  possessions  abroad,  definite  market-places  became 
an  imperative  necessity,  and  charters  for  their  existence 
were  granted  by  decree.  They  became  an  important 
means  of  securing  revenue. 

Even  the  Church  recognized  the  value  of  festivals  as 
means  of  enriching  itself  in  a  combination  of  barter  with 
merrymaking  and  adoration.  Festivals  and  fairs  alike 
enhanced  the  material  and  the  artistic  life  of  medieval 
Europe,  and  marked,  as  it  were,  the  embryonic  element 
out  of  which  grew  all  the  later  laws  and  ethics  of  trade. 
The  legitimacy  of  piracy  at  sea  and  robbery  on  land 
had  to  be  counteracted  in  some  way,  and  the  dignity  and 
decency  of  exchange  established. 

The  evolutionary  process  by  which  civilization  has 
achieved  some  sort  of  business  morality  may  yet  be  traced 
in  various  countries,  especially  among  the  primitive  peo- 
ples of  the  South  Seas,  the  more  advanced  Filipinos,  the 
recently  awakened  Japanese,  the  Mexicans,  and  the  ac- 
complished New  Zealanders.  Beneath  the  surface  of  the 
market-place,  the  wide  world  over,  one  finds  the  source 
of  civilization,  and  at  its  level,  the  level  of  human  com- 
monalty. For  as  men  hunt  to  cover  up  their  love  of  wild 
life  and  nature,  so  women  market  as  an  excuse  for  min- 
gling with  people.  There  is  in  the  behavior  of  the  mar- 


"THIS  LITTLE  PIG  WENT  TO  MARKET"    267 

keter  all  the  cunning  of  the  animal  in  search  of  prey,  and 
the  degree  to  which  these  instincts  are  developed  gives  in 
a  sense  the  measure  of  a  man's  civilization. 

Even  outside  the  bonds  of  law  and  order  the  mere 
process  of  exchange  tends  to  establish  social  ethics.  This 
is  nowhere  better  exemplified  than  at  the  thieves '  market 
in  Mexico  or  in  the  hidden  reaches  of  the  Orient.  Thither 
all  robbers  bring  their  stolen  wares  for  sale.  Thither 
all  the  robbed  hasten,  to  recover  their  lost  property. 
The  instinct  within  each  and  all  of  them  is  the  gambling 
spirit.  The  despoiler  is  eager  to  sell  as  quickly  and  as 
successfully  as  possible  lest  the  rightful  owner  arrive 
and  claim  the  booty.  The  general  public  is  anxious  to 
buy,  for  the  prices  naturally  are  low,  and  many  a  bar- 
gain may  be  secured.  The  despoiled,  chagrined  though 
they  may  be  at  their  loss,  are  in  part  compensated  by  the 
hope  of  a  purchase  made  at  somebody  else's  expense. 


I  had  not  known  that  buying  and  selling  was  ever  part 
of  the  scheme  of  things  among  people  whose  needs  were 
as  few  as  those  of  the  South-Sea  islanders.  Saints  and 
philosophers  are  always  teaching  us  that  the  most  desir- 
able state  is  that  in  which  wants  are  few,  and  their 
indulgence  is  still  more  limited.  But  it  seems  to  me  that 
where  that  condition  holds,  the  few  necessaries  of  life 
become  so  much  more  desirable  and  so  much  more  diffi- 
cult to  obtain  that,  instead  of  a  release  from  slavery, 
slavery  is  even  more  rigorous.  Our  pictured  impres- 
sions of  the  tropics  are  full  of  breadfruit-trees  and  fruits 
growing  in  abundance  without  labor.  But  quite  the  con- 
trary is  the  case.  The  fear  of  famine  and  the  insecurity 
of  life  have  dampened  the  joys  of  many  a  wild  man,  and 
the  pressure  of  population  has  only  too  frequently 
resulted  in  infanticide  and  cannibalism. 

When,  therefore,  I  heard  that  there  was  to  be  a  native 


268  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

bazaar  across  the  Eewa  River,  in  Vita  Levu,  the  largest 
island  of  the  Fiji  group,  I  defied  the  yellow  sun  that  hung 
overhead,  secured  a  complement  of  guides  in  two  Fijian 
boys  who  were  more  afraid  of  me  than  they  were  of 
their  chief,  and  set  out  for  real  primitive  excitement. 
We  were  pulled  across  the  river  on  a  punt  secured  to 
each  shore  by  a  cable,  and  made  our  way  up  the  banks 
in  the  direction  of  the  sugar-mill. 

It  was  noon  when  we  arrived  at  the  fair-grounds. 
Aside  from  long  wooden  tables  that  stood  beneath  arbors 
of  palms,  there  was  nothing  completed  by  way  of  prepa- 
ration. A  few  straggling  natives  wended  their  ways 
from  hut  to  hut  of  slab-board  and  thatch,  their  quiet 
manners  reminding  me  of  the  monks  in  monasteries, 
absorbed  in  their  duties.  Gradually,  venders  arrived; 
the  tables  began  to  sprout  with  banana-leaves  and 
flowers.  Strings  of  berry  beads  were  displayed,  like 
fish  out  of  water, — appealing  eyes  of  the  plant  world 
asking  why,  with  nature  so  near  at  hand,  they  needed 
to  be  torn  from  life.  Bottles  of  liquid  fats,  like  capsules 
of  the  castor-plant,  stood  ensconced  in  green-leaved  pack- 
ages containing  sweet  messes  that  left  the  eager  natives, 
old  and  young,  literally  web-handed. 

The  goods  displayed,  the  crowds  from  the  surrounding 
huts  arrived,  drawn  by  an  irresistible  charm.  A  Fijian 
never  came  with  his  mate ;  maiden  never  approached  on 
her  lover's  arm.  Though  they  all  appeared  indiscrimi- 
nately, there  was  no  obvious  grouping  of  friends  with 
friends.  They  moved  like  shoals  of  fish  that  had  got  the 
scent  or  the  sight  of  food.  It  was  a  crowd  with  every 
evidence  of  cohesiveness  except  that  of  companionship. 

To  me  there  was  something  pathetic  in  that  crowd. 
An  outsider  by  all  the  laws  of  centuries  of  contrary 
development,  I  had  no  means  of  entering  their  emotional 
lives,  of  guessing  the  promptings  which  made  them  leave 
privacy  for  herding.  I  had  only  the  most  outward  signs 


"THIS  LITTLE  PIG  WENT  TO  MARKET"  269 

to  go  by,  and  I  thought  what  spiritless,  barren  lives  they 
must  lead  who  could  be  brought  together  on  such  an 
occasion  in  so  casual  a  mood.  For  aside  from  the  bot- 
tles of  oil,  the  strings  of  beads,  and  the  wrappings  of 
stuff  in  banana-leaves,  there  was  nothing  from  my  view 
to  make  a  hundred  or  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  of 
sluggish  flesh  rise  from  its  mats  and  dare  the  piercing 
sun. 

Yet  the  women,  who  did  most  of  the  selling,  with  their 
unkempt  hair  and  their  crude  alien  costumes,  awoke  to 
something  universal  under  the  game  of  barter  they  were 
here  called  upon  to  play  crudely.  Rummage-sales  and 
carnivals,  dog-shows  and  dances,  likewise  change  the 
glitter  of  blue  eyes  and  pink  cheeks ;  and  I  smiled  at  the 
thought  of  Lao-tsze  and  Tolstoy,  who  between  650  B.C. 
and  A.D.  1910  preached  the  ugliness  of  trade. 

When  the  play  of  barter  and  exchange  had  stirred 
these  primitive  folk  to  a  little  more  life,  they  quite  natu- 
rally sought  a  way  of  giving  it  off  again ;  but  so  foreign 
did  a  real  bazaar  seem  to  them  that  they  entered  the 
recreations  with  little  zest.  In  these  days  of  savage 
sedateness,  with  trade  becoming  more  and  more  a  fea- 
ture and  a  pastime  of  life,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the 
natives  attend  with  spirits  in  abeyance.  Following  the 
great  exchange  of  beads  and  oils  and  edible  messes,  the 
crowds  moved  out  to  a  more  open  space,  under  the  clear 
sun.  There,  with  the  aid  of  a  native  band,  under  the 
conductorship  of  a  Catholic  priest,  they  made  merry, 
with  strange  sounds  and  more  familiar  dances.  But  it 
all  seemed  perfunctory  and  not  without  a  touch  of  sad- 
ness. The  Fijian  voice  at  its  best  is  rich,  deep,  and 
stately.  One  cannot  imagine  it  attuned  to  singing  jazz 
or  rag-time.  It  seems  exclusively  made  for  hymns.  In 
consequence,  the  crowds  could  not  rise  to  the  occasion, 
and  stood  behind  the  entertainers  like  so  many  solemn 
Japanese  in  the  presence  of  royalty. 


270  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 


But  lest  the  little  pig  who  stays  at  home  may  really 
starve  to  death,  the  world  sometimes  indulges  him  a 
little  by  letting  the  market  go  to  him,  and  never  have  I 
seen  a  market  more  picturesque  and  more  self-possessed 
than  one  of  this  sort  that  visited  our  steamer  as  she 
lay  anchored  in  the  harbor  of  Manila. 

All  about  us  during  the  night  had  crept  Filipino 
lighters,  their  gunwales  capped  with  low-arched  mats. 
They  hugged  the  steamer  like  a  brood  of  younglings  wait- 
ing for  their  food.  They  were  to  receive  the  cargo  of 
boxes  and  canned  goods  from  New  York  and  other  mar- 
kets of  the  world. 

It  was  still  cool.  A  native  Filipino  woman  squatted 
on  the  ridge  of  a  lighter  top  between  two  men.  She 
was  enjoying  her  morning  cigarette.  As  she  caught 
my  gaze  her  face  beamed  flirtatiously.  Then  and  there 
I  tried  my  tongue  for  the  first  time  in  the  real  use  of 
Spanish,  and  failed.  As  the  morning  advanced,  children 
crept  from  the  darkness  of  the  covered  lighters ;  charcoal 
pails  were  fanned  into  a  glow  like  that  of  the  dawn ;  and 
roosters,  tied  to  the  boats  by  one  leg  with  a  string, 
crowed,  their  contempt,  protest,  or  indifference  to  a  glut- 
tonous and  unjust  world. 

As  the  hour  of  breakfast's  needs  arrived,  a  thin,  long 
canoe  came  up,  insinuating  its  way  among  the  many  more 
capacious  crafts,  quietly,  slowly,  like  a  thing  just  stirring 
with  the  new  day.  On  its  narrow  bottom  flopped  dozens 
of  little  fish  in  agony,  dying  of  too  much  air.  They  looked 
like  so  many  bars  of  silver  when  they  lay  dead.  A  basket 
of  bananas  and  a  few  simple  vegetables  comprised  the 
rest  of  the  stock  of  these  aquatic  tradespeople,  this  man 
and  his  woman.  She  squatted  comfortably,  looking 
from  side  to  side  for  customers,  while  he  pushed  the 
canoe  along  with  easy  strokes.  They  did  not  cry  their 
wares,  and  handed  their  stores  out  as  though  known  to 


"THIS  LITTLE  PIG  WENT  TO  MARKET"    271 

all  for  fair  dealing  and  fearless  of  competition.  Thus 
with  the  freshness  of  morning  air  they  stimulated  this 
little  world  to  action. 

By  noon  that  day  I  was  slipping  through  narrow 
streets,  avoiding  the  moldy  shops  of  the  main  street, 
seeking  out  the  men  and  women  who  make  life  interest- 
ing. The  coolness  of  the  morning  was  gone,  crowded 
out  by  steaming  noon.  The  casual,  gift-like  manners  of 
those  two  aquatic  traders  was  now  a  thing  not  even  to 
expect,  for  I  wasj  in  the  midst  of  civilized  trade. 
Unexpectedly,  I  came  upon  the  public  market. 

What  a  different  world !  The  hand  of  the  law  was  in 
evidence.  Here,  despite  the  general  confused  appear- 
ance, the  concrete  drains  and  stone  tables  gave  an  assur- 
ance of  at  least  periodical  cleansing.  Here  the  laws  of 
barter  held  men  tied  to  fair  dealing,  as  the  roosters  were 
tied  to  those  lighters.  Venders  make  a  mad  dash  for 
freedom  through  cheating,  but  were  jerked  back  to  hon- 
esty by  the  bargain-hunter  who  watches  the  scales  and 
knows  the  laws.  Values  are  measured  by  the  size  of  the 
pupil  or  the  intensity  of  the  gaze ;  if  eagerness  is  mani- 
fest, up  goes  the  price. 

A  Buddhist,  looking  upon  a  market  like  this,  if  he 
were  unaccustomed  to  pagan  ways,  would  shrink  from 
the  sight  as  we  would  at  a  cannibal  feast.  Here  the 
world  was  calmly  cruel.  All  the  things  we  eat  lay  in 
their  naked  ghastliness, — the  thin  streams  of  blood,  the 
bulging  eyes  of  little  creatures,  the  stiff  inflexibility  of 
limbs  once  quick  and  supple.  And  the  men  and  women 
were  unconsciously  affected  by  the  scene. 

For  nothing  stimulates  the  snarling  quarrelsomeness 
of  human  beings  more  than  the  sight  of  food  or  the  fear 
of  imposition.  The  appeals  of  the  sellers  were  mingled 
with  the  bargainings  and  bickerings  of  the  buyers,  a 
competition  among  both  to  best  one  another.  Two  women 
stood  over  a  fish-bin  engaged  in  a  matching  of  wits  that 


272  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

might  well  have  been  envied  by  filibustering  senators. 
The  debate  was  over  a  tray  of  tiny  fisha 

A  white  woman,  firmly  knit  in  body  and  in  character, 
made  her  way  through  the  many  aisles,  purchasing  with 
a  precision  as  clearly  civilized  as  it  was  silent.  A  Span- 
ish woman,  dark  and  dashing,  swung  through  the  same 
aisles  like  a  little  whirlwind.  There  was  brilliance  in 
her  eyes,  and  brilliancy  in  the  gems  on  her  fingers  and 
in  her  ears.  She  was  exceedingly  well  dressed,  buxom, 
and  attractive,  but  every  purchase  was  made  with  a  gust 
of  austerity  and  command  quite  uncalled  for.  She  bullied 
the  fisherwoman,  she  bullied  her  hackman,  she  bullied 
the  servant  who  had  come  to  carry  her  purchases  for 
her ;  and  then  she  sat  down  at  one  of  the  little  restaurant 
tables  and  ate  the  strange  concoctions  with  a  dexterity 
obviously  native  to  her.  She  was  a  half-caste,  but  the 
Spanish  vein  was  strong  in  her  blood,  and  Spanish  pas- 
sion actuated  her.  She  got  into  her  ancient-looking 
hackney-coach  with  flash  and  gusto;  but  not,  ho'wever, 
before  she  had  gained  her  point  in  the  matter  of  an  extra 
piece  of  fat  upon  which  she  was  insisting.  She  was  the 
little  pig  who  had  roast  beef  because  she  knew  how  to 
market  economically. 


But  the  little  pig  that  has  none,  and  the  one  who  cries, 
wee!  wee!  wee!  all  the  way  home,  in  the  Far  East,  is 
like  the  Greek  about  to  be  ostracized  by  the  community 
in  the  agora.  Indeed,  he  has  been  ostracized  in  Japan 
for  hundreds  of  years,  and  even  modernization  and 
imperial  edict  have  changed  his  status  but  little.  He  is 
known  as  the  eta.  To  him  has  been  allotted  the  task  of 
attending  to  dead  animals,  whether  edible  or  not,  and 
though  his  touch  profanes  the  lowest  classes  of  Japan, 
his  labor  keeps  the  country  clean  after  a  fashion.  Much 
more.  Not  only  do  these  outcasts  remove  dead  car- 
casses from  a  careless  Oriental  world,  but  in  one  place 


FIJIAN   VILLAGE 

One  is  content  with  its  peaceful  aspects 


©  Harper  Brothers 


LITTLE   FISH   WENT   TO   THIS    MARKET 
Before  Japan  woke  up 


"THIS  LITTLE  PIG  WENT  TO  MABKET"    273 

at  least  they  have  been  given  the  sweetest  of  all  profes- 
sions,— that  of  selling  flowers  with  which  to  decorate  the 
tokonoma,  the  most  honorable  place  in  the  Japanese 
home.  And  all  through  the  day,  if  one  is  not  too 
much  engrossed  in  the  marts  of  the  foreign  settlement, 
one  will  hear  the  voice  of  these  flower-girls  calling  plain- 
tively, "Hana!  hana-i!  hcma^iro!"  Flowers  are  the 
things  that  stand  between  her  and  the  degradation  of 
her  class,  because  for  years  the  shrine  of  a  loyal  servant 
of  the  neglected  emperor  who  was  struggling  against  a 
greater  and  more  powerful  group  of  disloyal  Japanese 
had  been  kept  fresh  with  flowers  by  these  eta,  or  out- 
casts, who  did  not  know  whose  grave  they  cherished. 

Otherwise  the  market  in  Japan  is  in  the  hands  of 
Japanese  now  in  good  social  standing,  men  who  before 
the  opening  of  the  country  numbered  among  those  not 
much  above  the  outcasts.  To  be  in  trade  was  worse  in 
Japan  than  in  England,  and  when  one  watches  the 
behavior  of  men  at  markets,  one  is  not  surprised.  One 
who  takes  the  average  trader  at  his  word  in  Japan — 
not  the  big  concerns,  to  be  sure — deserves  to  cry,  wee! 
wee!  wee!  all  the  way  home. 

While  all  over  the  world  woman  goes  to  market,  in 
Japan  the  market  goes  to  her.  She  has  had  to  have 
most  of  her  daily  supplies  brought  to  her  door  by  the 
cobbler,  the  bean-curd-maker,  or  the  fisherman.  In  con- 
sequence, except  when  she  has  servants,  she  has  been 
deprived  of  the  educational  advantages  of  market  gos- 
sip, and  has  been  kept  in  her  sphere  more  easily.  She 
will  be  the  last  to  come  forward  to  freedom. 

Not  so  the  men.  All  the  social  advantages  of  barter 
and  exchange  are  theirs.  They  communicate  their  experi- 
ences to  one  another  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  over 
the  fish-tub.  They  test  their  wits  and  their  eyes  with 
the  auctioneer  who  starts  them  running  in  competition 
with  one  another  over  an  attractive  specimen  from  the 
sea.  Or  the  more  imaginative  resist  confusion  in  the 


274  ;THE  PACIFIC  TKIANGLE 

(pit  of  the  stock-market,  where  they  keep  in  touch  with 
their  entire  country  and  with  the  world.  They  are 
becoming,  in  consequence,  more  efficient  and  more  prac- 
tised in  world-wide  ethics  of  business. 

Yet  within  the  last  few  years  public  markets  have 
sprung  into  vogue  in  Japan,  and  I  look  toward  a  revolu- 
tion in  the  relations  of  the  sexes,  for  no  woman  who  goes 
to  market  remains  long  an  obedient  and  submissive  little 
soul.  This  is  obvious  to  any  one  who  wanders  into  the 
market  of  Shanghai.  There  one  can  see  the  status  of 
the  various  women  who  replenish  their  household  sup- 
plies and  the  most  humble,  it  seemed  to  me,  was  the 
woman  of  Japan.  She  moved  about  like  Priscilla  sud- 
denly brought  back  to  life  and  sent  to  compete  with  the 
modern  American  woman. 


In  ancient  Greece,  of  course,  no  woman  of  refinement 
went  marketing  herself.  She  sent  her  slaves.  But  in 
modern  New  Zealand  not  only  are  there  no  slaves,  but 
there  is  no  one  to  do  any  personal  service  of  that  nature. 
In  the  old  days,  in  Europe,  the  market  was  the  general 
rendezvous  where  life  played  its  pranks  at  all  levels. 
The  religious  festivals  also  afforded  dramatic  pageantry, 
and  sometimes  the  two  interplayed  with  each  other.  But 
in  our  modern  times,  when  the  public  market  is  largely 
supplanted  by  the  great  department  store,  shielded,  pro- 
tected, organized  into  a  minimum  of  human  interest  and 
a  maximum  of  efficiency,  the  charm  of  the  market  is 
no  more.  So,  too,  our  festivals  have  surrendered  much 
of  their  artistry.  This  was  somewhat  revived  during 
the  war.  New  Zealand,  because  of  the  still  evident 
atmosphere  of  pioneer  life,  the  lack  of  interlocking  sys- 
tems of  communication,  and  its  distance  from  the  most 
advanced  places  in  the  world,  still  affords  some  of  that 
simple  charm  of  a  life  one  reads  about.  The  streets  of 
the  main  cities  nightly  resemble  something  one  has  dimly 


"THIS  LITTLE  PIG  WENT  TO  MAKKET"    275 

heard  of  and  never  hoped  to  see.  The  people  have  laid 
aside  all  thought  of  business  or  barter.  There  is  in  their 
attitude  something  of  that  suppressed  amazement  that 
revealed  the  thoughts  of  the  South-Sea  islanders  when 
asked  to  thrill  to  an  alien  band  conducted  by  the  Catholic 
priest.  Both  the  whites  and  the  primitives  seemed  to  re- 
call that  once  they  knew  how  to  celebrate. 

Queens  Street  of  Auckland  was  decorated  one  day,  and 
booths  were  erected  on  which  simple  products  were 
offered  for  sale.  A  parade  of  two  fire-department 
machines,  a  number  of  men  in  Chinese  costumes,  others 
painted  and  foolscapped,  boys  with  enormous  masks,  and 
girls  in  dominoes,  marched  through  the  city,  and  in  their 
wake  was  a  rush  of  just  plain  pedestrians.  Other  than 
that  nothing  happened.  From  five  to  ten  thousand 
people  jammed  the  street.  The  crowd  was  essentially  like 
every  other  crowd  in  the  world, — the  same  in  gregarious- 
ness,  the  same  in  hunting  after  pleasure  that  abideth  but 
a  moment. 

One  evening  the  events  were  more  thrilling.  Sulky 
races,  men  driven  by  girls,  and  May-pole  dances  round 
the  street  lamps  that  stand  between  the  tram-lines  gave 
a  suggestion  of  antiquity  to  the  city.  The  only  differ- 
ence between  these  performances  and  those  in  the  upper 
regions  of  the  tropics  was  in  the  absence  of  palms  and 
green  arbors.  In  place  of  wide  spaces  were  narrow 
streets,  lined  with  brick  buildings  and  studded  with  iron 
poles  whose  only  blossoms  were  glowing  electric  lights, 
and  whose  only  branches  were  pairs  of  stiff  arms  hold- 
ing the  trolley  wires. 

So,  too,  the  market  side  of  this  carnival  was  a  sharp 
contrast  to  the  fairs  and  markets  in  more  modernized 
communities.  Britons  are  essentially  traders,  but  they 
trade  by  rule.  Even  when  they  play  trading,  as  at  this 
carnival,  they  are  more  constrained.  What  little  was 
done  to  allay  the  sober  spirit  was  revived  by  the  element 
of  barter.  The  gambling  spirit,  checked  in  normal  times, 


276  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

was  stimulated.  Baffles,  wheels,  and  rings  were  employed 
to  extract  coins  from  the  under-zealous.  The  only  aban- 
don was  in  the  confetti,  which  was  scattered  generously 
about  in  the  throngs. 

In  the  booths  conservation  was  the  key-note.  Every- 
thing, from  motor-cars  to  potatoes,  was  auctioned  and 
raffled.  A  man  from  Coney  Island,  accustomed  to  that 
hysterical  release  of  emotion,  would  have  felt  that  he 
was  attending  not  a  carnival,  but  an  open  market  in 
which  only  the  basic  necessities  of  life  were  in  demand. 

Not  so  in  Napier,  New  Zealand,  or  in  Sydney,  Austra- 
lia. There  they  seem  as  different  from  their  British 
ancestry  as  Hottentots  are  from  Polynesians.  There 
men  and  women  know  how  to  make  merry  in  ways  almost 
unforgettable,  and  to  ripple  the  smooth  surface  of  sedate 
civilization  with  lovely  flirtations  that  would  weaken  the 
most  stoic  of  mortals  and  paragons  of  propriety. 

Otherwise,  in  all  New  Zealand,  life  goes  along  in  its 
leisurely,  businesslike  way.  Men  attend  horse-sales  with 
great  zest;  salesmen  rush  across  the  country  in  their 
little  motor-cars,  bringing  the  wares  of  the  world 's  elabo- 
rate markets  to  the  doors  of  stations  or  ranches;  auc- 
tioneers dash  hither  and  thither  to  confuse,  if  they  can, 
farmers  into  the  exchange  of  sheep  or  cattle. 

While  tramping  along  the  road  to  Wellington,  I  was 
overtaken  by  a  touring-car. 

"Want  a  ride?"  asked  the  driver.  And  when  I 
mounted,  he  asked :  *  *  Seeing  our  little  country,  are  you  ? 
Nothing  like  it  in  the  world.  Ever  been  to  a  sheep  auc- 
tion1? Want  to  come  along?"  And  the  next  thing  I 
knew  we  were  rushing  over  the  dirt  road  toward  Onga 
Onga.  We  drew  up  at  the  accommodation  house  with  a 
sudden  jolt. 

The  guest-room  was  filled  with  farmers.  Sallow, 
hollow-cheeked,  with  voices  that  seemed  to  plow  through 
their  brains  for  thoughts,  their  conversation  was  labored. 
Dinner  was  devoured  in  semi-silence. 


"THIS  LITTLE  PIG  WENT  TO  MABKET"    277 

But  when  they  got  to  the  stockyards,  they  became  more 
alert.  The  auctioneer  mounted  the  fence  like  an  orator. 
He  began  cackling  like  a  bewitched  hen.  The  farmers 
moved  about,  feeling  sheep  offered  for  sale,  the  more 
expert  glancing  at  them  with  pride  in  judgment.  One 
sleek  farmer,  whose  elaborate  motor-car  stood  by  the 
roadside,  scrutinized  the  yards  as  one  who  might  buy 
the  entire  lot  as  a  whim. 

The  psychology  of  the  auction-sale  crowd  is  distinct 
from  that  of  the  bargain-hunter.  The  latter  believes 
himself  to  be  the  winner  because  of  the  confessed  mis- 
judgment  of  the  trader.  But  the  auction-buyer  moves 
about  quietly,  makes  his  own  judgments  of  values, 
exchanges  opinions  only  with  his  associates,  and  waits 
his  chances.  At  a  bargain-counter  every  one  rushes  for 
the  thing  he  wants ;  here  the  very  thing  most  wanted  is 
ignored,  as  though  to  lead  other  hunters  off  the  scent. 
As  soon  as  the  sale  was  over,  men  fell  apart,  like  boiling 
rice  in  a  pot  when  suddenly  douched  with  cold  water. 

So  far  has  civilized  man  made  certain  the  processes 
by  which  he  secures  the  satisfaction  of  his  wants  that 
one  begins  to  wonder  why  men  like  to  buy  and  sell  at 
all.  They  are  like  the  artisans  and  the  mechanists  who 
have  become  specialized  and  divorced  from  contact  with 
the  living,  finished  product.  So  much  so  is  this  true  that 
much  of  New  Zealand's  real  marketing  is  done  in  Lon- 
don. Once  the  manager  of  a  station  wired  his  London 
principals : 

SNOWING  DURING  LAMBING 

The  principals,  according  to  New  Zealand's  version, 

replied : 

STOP  LAMBING  AT  ONCE 


Wander  where  one  may  this  wide  world  over,  one 
finds  that  the  places  to  which  tourists  are  drawn  mostly 
are  the  markets.  There  one  finds  the  richest  reward  for 


278  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

curiosity.  The  traveler  in  foreign  lands,  especially  if 
he  is  alone  and  somewhat  homesick,  knows  no  pleasanter 
thrill  than  the  sight  upon  the  pier,  amid  cargoes  from 
every  known  quarter  of  the  globe,  of  a  box  of  canned 
goods  stamped  in  black-stenciled  letters  with  the  seven 
signs  of  bliss,  "NEW  YORK." 

When  lost  in  that  good  old  town,  it  had  never  occurred 
to  him  that  ships  trail  the  seven  seas  carrying  canned 
soups  and  fruits  and  vegetables  to  black-faced,  sprawl- 
ing-toed savages.  But  out  there  in  the  wide  spaces  of 
the  globe  he  realizes  how  strikingly  alike  are  the  alimen- 
tary failings  of  mankind.  Lost  in  reminiscences,  when  on 
Broadway  again,  he  thinks  himself  forever  cut  off  from 
romance,  until  he  happens  to  turn  into  a  side  street,  a 
public  market,  or  even  a  small  chain-store  grocery.  There 
he  finds  that  in  a  way  romance  is  not  dead.  The  sedate 
housewife  permits  herself  on  occasion  to  flirt  with  the 
butcher  or  the  baker;  incidents  the  on-looker  has  not 
thought  possible  prevail  here  as  well  as  in  the  markets 
of  the  Orient.  And  packages  with  the  imprint  of  Japan, 
of  China,  coffee  from  South  America,  awaken  in  him 
memories  irresistible.  He  goes  away  wishing  he  were 
again  off  there  where  New  York  seems  like  romance  to 
him.  The  day  will  never  come  when  silks  and  spices  and 
marts  will  not  conjure  up  in  the  minds  of  the  most  prosaic 
the  very  essence  of  romance, 


BOOK  THREE 

DISCUSSION    OF    THE  POLITICAL    PROBLEMS 

INVOLVING   AUSTRALASIA,   ASIA 

AND  AMERICA 


CHAPTER 

AUSTRALASIA 

"V TEW  ZEALAND  and  Australia  are  to-day  the  only 
i.\  spots  in  the  world  wherein  the  white  race  may  ex- 
pand without  encroaching  upon  already  existing  and 
developed  races.  The  extent  to  which  they  are  taking 
advantage  of  their  opportunities,  the  extent  to  which 
they  are  enlarging  the  scope  and  the  quality  of  progres- 
sive civilization  is  the  measure  of  their  right  to  the  main- 
tenance of  their  exclusive  " White- Australasia"  policxJ 

I  confess  at  the  outset  that  I  am  at  a  loss  for  an  ade- 
quate argument  against  this  policy.  Narrow,  selfish, 
dog-in-the-manger-like  as  it  may  be,  we  are  faced  with 
the  other  question:  From  time  out  of  mind  China  and 
India  have  had  two  of  the  largest  slices  of  the  world's 
surface.  What  have  they  done  with  them?  How  can 
India  and  Asia,  having  littered  up  their  domains  with 
human  beings,  ask  that  more  of  the  world  be  turned  over 
to  them  for  a  repetition  of  the  same  ghastly  reproduc- 
tion I  They  have  made  it  impossible,  with  their  degrada- 
tion of  womanhood  and  their  exaltation  of  caste  and 
ancestry,  for  new  life  to  start  with  anything  like  a  de- 
cent chance.  Is  there  not  every  reason  to  believe  that 
permitted  to  take  up  quarters  in  the  open  spaces  of  the 
white  man 's  world,  they  will  do  the  same  ! 

True  that  the  white  man,  in  both  of  these  cases,  has 
wrested  his  lands  from  existing  native  tribes.  But  it 
was  also  true  that,  in  New  Zealand  at  least,  and 
through  Polynesia,  the  natives  were  immigrants  who  in 
their  turn  imposed  on  yet  more  primitive  natives,  as 
did  the  Japanese.  Furthermore,  no  race  on  earth  has 

281 


282  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

been  given  a  better  opportunity  to  make  good  than  has  the 
Maori  in  New  Zealand.  The  Australoid  seems  on  the 
whole  not  equipped  for  the  effort.  There  have  been 
cases  of  Australian  blacks  making  good.  There  is  the 
case  of  the  savage  who  after  receiving  an  education  be- 
came a  Shakespearean  scholar.  But  the  exception 
only  proves  the  rule.  Furthermore,  though  there  is 
bitter  opposition  to  any  white  man  marrying  a  native 
black  woman  in  Australia — an  opposition  that  is  calling 
for  legal  action  from  some  quarters  so  that  such  mar- 
riage will  be  in  future  impossible — still,  the  White- 
Australia  policy  is  not  aimed  against  the  blacks.  These 
will  either  take  hold  of  themselves  and  make  good,  in 
time,  or  will  die  out.  Be  that  as  it  may,  there  is  no  an- 
swer to  the  Asiatic  demand  for  admission  based  on  the 
argument  about  the  white  man's  plunder. 

The  only  other  argument  is  that,  if  this  is  the  case, 
the  white  man  must  get  out  of  Asia.  There  too,  it  seems 
to  me,  is  a  weak  spot.  The  white  man  in  Asia — as  man 
to  man — does  not  lower  the  standard  of  the  civilization 
of  the  native ;  nor  is  he  ever  likely  to  migrate  in  numbers 
large  enough  to  create  a  problem.  Only  politically, 
where  a  leeching-process  exists,  where  native  industries 
are  destroyed  by  cheap  foreign  products  (like  that  of 
cotton  goods,  which  were  forced  upon  the  Indians  by  the 
British,  to  the  utter  ruination  of  the  Indian  textiles)  has 
the  havoc  been  serious.  That  is  a  real  argument,  and  it 
is  up  to  the  Asiatics  so  to  adjust  their  own  affairs  and  to 
come  together  as  to  ''oust"  the  white  man, — a  problem 
for  the  natives  to  solve  for  themselves. 

There  is  still  another  consideration.  What  of  Japan? 
Japan  has  national  unity,  she  is  advancing.  Is  she, 
then,  to  be  made  an  exception  in  the  White-Australia 
policy?  The  answer  is,  Japan  must  do  as  she  would  be 
done  by,  an  answer  which  will  be  enlarged  upon  in  the 
chapter  dealing  with  Japan.  \ 

Having  thus  focused  on  the  negative  phases  of  this 


AUSTRALASIA  283 

discussion,  let  us  see  what  is  written  on  the  inner  side 
of  the  Australasian  shield.  Before  we  can  at  all  under- 
stand the  motives  that  move  Australasia  in  the  direction 
she  is  going,  and  foresee  the  future,  we  shall  have  to  know 
by  what  channels  she  came  to  be  what  she  is,  what  ideals 
are  parents  to  her  being,  and  what  ideals  are  her  off- 
spring. 

f~  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  Britain's  interest  in  her  south 
Pacific  possessions  have  always  been  more  or  less  mild. 
"When  the  question  of  annexing  New  Zealand  came  up 
in  1839,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  said  in  Parliament 
that  Great  Britain  already  had  too  many  colonies.  It 
is  common  knowledge  that  she  gave  them  as  much  rope 
as  they  would  take,  that  when  she  had  the  opportunity 
of  acquiring  the  Samoan  group  in  1889  she  let  it  slip, 
and  that  she  took  the  Fiji  Islands  only  after  their  chief, 
Thakambau,  offered  them  in  liquidation  of  unjust  debts 
to  America.  In  other  words,  it  was  New  Zealand  and 
Australia  that  held  on  to  the  mother  country,  instead  of 
the  reversej  And  in  order  to  understand  the  spirit  of 
the  Dominion  and  the  Commonwealth,  we  must  consider 
|  the  reasons  for  their  clinging  to  "home.^J 
\~  Australia  was  first  settled  by  men  convicted  of  of- 
fences against  Britain's  then  crude  sense  of  justice;  but 
New  Zealand  was  devised  as  a  colonial  scheme  under 
which  every  feature  of  British  life  was  to  be  transplanted. 
When  Europeans  came  to  America,  political  and  relig- 
ious freedom  was  sought.  When  Great  Britain  went  to 
New  Zealand,  eighty-five  years  ago,  society  was  politi- 
cally and  religiously  free,  but  industrial  organization 
was  awaiting  an  ambitious  hand.  In  New  Zealand  it  was 
not,  as  Havelock  Ellis  puts  it  so  vividly,  "the  roving 
of  a  race  with  piratical  and  poetic  instincts  invading  old 
England  where  few  stocks  arrived  save  by  stringent  selec- 
tion of  the  sea."  They  did  not  come  because  of  romantic 
longing,  nor  to  escape  oppression  and  restriction.  The 
story  of  the  development  of  New  Zealand,  from  settle- 


284  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

ment  and  conquest  of  the  Maories  to  the  beginning  of 
that  legislation  which  has  made  it  famous,  is  the  story  of 
conservatism.  When  the  first  shipload  of  colonists  set 
out  from  England,  their  prospectus  was  a  document  of 
conservatism.  The  aim  of  the  projectors  was  to  trans- 
plant every  phase  and  station  and  class  of  English  life, 
to  build  in  the  other  end  of  the  world  another  England. 

Doubtless  the  fathers  of  this  scheme  were  seeking  to 
overcome  the  fear  of  forced  transplantation  which  had 
made  of  Australia  a  land  of  horror  in  anticipation,  and 
hence  they  spread  broadcast  accounts  of  the  sort  of 
colony  New  Zealand  was  to  be,  which  made  it  alluring. 
But  such  are  the  erring  tendencies  of  human  nature  that 
Australia,  intended  to  be  the  land  of  one  of  the  worst 
forms  of  indentured  and  penal  servitude  and  the  perpet- 
nation  of  unprogressiveness,  set  the  pace  for  the  entire 
world  in  untried  liberalism  in  industry,  while  New 
Zealand,  likewise  advanced,  has  developed  her  latent  con- 
servatism in  regard  to  imperialism  to  a  marked  degree. 

For  apart  from  the  experiments  in  labor  legislation, 
New  Zealand  has  never  lost  any  of  the  dependence  on 
England.  She  seems  to  be  afraid  of  her  isolation,  lest, 
deprived  of  communication  with  the  world,  she  should 
be  forced  into  a  condition  such  as  that  in  which  the 
white  man  found  the  heliolithic  Maories.  Canada  might 
become  a  nation  separate  from  Britain;  so  might  Aus- 
tralia. But  New  Zealand  has  not  even  that  proximity 
to  a  continent  which  made  England  what  she  is,  for  she 
is  twelve  hundred  miles  from  her  nearest  neighbor.  In 
consequence,  the  New  Zealanders  have  always  main- 
tained a  strong  leaning  toward  the  homeland,  whereas 
in  Australia  early  resentment  alienated  the  settlers. 
The  New  Zealander  to-day  is  the  exact  replica  of  the 
Englishman  as  we  knew  him;  the  Australian  is  a  com- 
promise between  an  Englishman  and  an  American.  The 
modern  Australian  on  the  east  coast  of  the  continent 
is  as  little  an  Englishman  as  possible.  I  have  heard 


THE   MOUNTAINS  ARE  CALLED   THE   REMARKABLES 
Farmer  M had  the  reputation  for  being  the  worst  boss  in  the  Wakatipu  (New  Zealand) 


THE   BLUE   MOUNTAINS   OF  AUSTRALIA 
Seen  from  this  side  they  look  more  like  gorges 


AUSTRALASIA  285 

any  number  of  Australians  resent  being  called  English. 
The  last  ''convict"  was  brought  to  Australia  in  1840; 
yet  the  Australians  are  very  conscious  of  this  stigma 
on  them.  The  other  day  an  English  engineer  told  me 
that  in  Subiaco,  one  of  the  suburbs  of  Perth,  it  was  im- 
possible for  one  to  join  the  tennis-club  whose  grandfather 
was  born  in  Australia — lest  that  ignoble  ancestor  should 
have  passed  on  some  of  the  "taint"  to  his  unfortunate 
offspring.  Yet  in  the  eyes  of  enlightened  legislation,  the 
taint  involved  is  of  course  questionable. 

It  is  therefore  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  Australia 
kept  growing  farther  and  farther  from  England.  In 
the  early  days  each  settlement  maintained  its  own  gov- 
ernment, and  so  great  was  the  jealousy  among  the 
settlements  that  they  sought  to  bar  one  another  even  in 
the  construction  of  railroads.  Victoria  built  a  broad- 
gage  line,  New  South  Wales,  a  narrower,  and  Queens- 
land the  narrowest, — not  mere  engineering  accident  due 
to  any  notion  of  superiority  of  the  special  line,  but  clearly 
and  openly  to  make  communication  of  one  with  another 
difficult.  But  by  1900  the  settlements  had  outgrown  their 
childish  squabbling,  and  they  became  federated  into  the 
Commonwealth  of  Australia. 

Though  this  brought  them  together  within  Australia, 
it  awoke  New  Zealand  to  the  danger  of  being  drawn  into 
that  union  against  her  will.  "The  Melbourne  Age" 
prophesied  that  in  a  quarter  of  a  century  they  would 
be  federated.  "The  fate  and  destiny  of  Australia  and 
New  Zealand  were  the  same  and  they  should  be  united 
in  the  defense  of  these  distant  lands  that  were  held  by 
people  of  the  same  thought  and  same  political  system." 
But  there  never  has  been  much  love  lost  between  them. 
New  Zealanders  have  been  anathema  in  Australia,  and 
Australians  hadn't  a  ghost  of  a  chance  of  getting  a  job 
in  New  Zealand.  Nor  was  this  a  matter  of  different 
standards  of  living,  except  that  they  both  discriminated 
against  the  Englishman.  And  not  without  reason,  for  the 


286  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

type  of  Englishman  who  set  out  for  the  Antipodes  was 
one  who  generally  had  nothing  to  sustain  him  at  home. 
To  the  Australasians  he  was  virtually  a  foreigner,  and 
foreigners  of  any  sort  are  few  in  the  far  South,  and  are 
encouraged  still  less.  Yet  there  is  excessive  pride  in  the 
fact  that  something  like  98  per  cent,  of  the  inhabitants 
are  British. 

In  view  of  the  economic  departures  they  have  taken 
from  European  conceptions,  this  would  seem  a  paradox. 
But  even  among  the  workers,  the  psychological  effect  of 
''home"  is  apparent  to  the  most  casual  observer. 
Though  material  security  has  been  assured  by  the  State, 
the  result  of  much  of  the  legislation  in  the  Antipodes 
seems  to  me  to  have  been  something  akin  to  the  class 
system  in  England.  The  worker  has  become  legally  rec- 
ognized as  a  worker,  he  has  been  given  a  minimum  wage 
and  protection  against  imposition,  but  any  effort  on  the 
part  of  labor  to  crystallize  its  ideals  is  still  obnoxious 
to  the  masses.  There  is  not  even  any  of  the  impulse 
found  among  American  workers  toward  that  rise  in  the 
social  scale  which  is  essentially  bourgeois.  There  is  a 
most  decided  tendency  to  accept  the  status  of  worker  in 
the  good  old  English  fashion.  Working-people  do  not 
regard  themselves  as  " gentlemen'*  or  as  "ladies,"  these 
terms  in  New  Zealand  having  the  same  significance  they 
have  in  the  old  country.  Deference  to  one  who  does  not 
look  like  a  laborer  is  pronounced,  and  the  average  work- 
man is  more  ambitious  for  the  * '  gentleman"  than  he  is  for 
himself.  This  spirit  obtains  much  more  in  New  Zealand 
than  in  Australia. 

Than  dignity  in  labor  nothing  in  the  world  could  be 
more  worthy.  But  if  that  dignity  spells  merely  content, 
it  lays  society  open  to  a  renewal  of  the  very  class  divi- 
sions industrial  progress  has  sought  to  remove.  The  la- 
borer is  too  content  to  remain  a  laborer  actively  to  enter 
the  lists  against  injustice.  And  in  a  short  time  you  have 


AUSTEALASIA  287 

those  who  refused  to  be  doped  by  the  talk  of  virtue  in 
labor  on  the  top,  and  the  laborer  at  the  bottom. 

Yet,  socially  and  outwardly,  there  are  not  the  gaps  be- 
tween the  classes  in  New  Zealand  that  are  found  in  Aus- 
tralia. There  are  no  great  restaurants  and  pleasure 
places  for  the  rich.  All  people  visit  the  dainty  little 
tea-rooms,  and  often  workingmen  come  dressed  in 
their  working-clothes,  with  unwashed  hands.  In  Dunedin 
the  proprietor  of  one  of  the  best  tea-rooms  handed  out 
little  cards  to  laborers  with  "Your  Patronage  is  Unde- 
sirable" on  them,  but  the  public  howled  his  practice  out 
of  existence.  This  is  largely  because  the  level  of  life  in 
New  Zealand  is  more  even.  The  wealthy  do  not  display 
themselves  over-much,  and  the  most  obvious  club  life  is 
that  among  the  workers.  Workingmen 's  clubs  are 
equipped  with  very  good  libraries  and  reading-rooms, 
but  also  with  tremendous  circular  bars  fully  as  much 
frequented  as  the  book-shelves. 

The  result  is  that  though,  from  a  progressive  point  of 
view,  New  Zealand  is  outwardly  tame  and  sober,  from 
a  consideration  of  health,  the  standard  of  life  is  univer- 
sally good.  Any  great  influx  of  peoples  with  standards 
of  living  that  would  of  necessity  demoralize  this  normal- 
ity, would  give  the  country  a  setback  which  might  take 
generations  to  overcome.  On  the  other  hand,  though  the 
present  state  of  affairs  might  continue  indefinitely,  un- 
less New  Zealand  gains  in  numbers,  her  place  among  the 
influential  members  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  nations  is  cer- 
tain to  be  strained,  if  not  jeopardized. 

Torn  between  these  economic  enthusiasms  of  a  small 
country  and  the  restraining  influences  of  a  tradition  that 
is  essentially  imperialistic,  New  Zealand  has  a  pretty 
hard  time  of  it.  Naturally  enough,  she  is  holding  on  to  her 
beloved  mother  country  with  an  excessive  amount  of 
talk,  while  at  the  same  time  nibbling  away  at  the  ties  that 
bind  her.  She  is  in  the  hardest  position  of  any  of  the 
Pacific  countries.  By  tradition  adoring  England  and 


288  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

scorning  Australia,  emulating  the  one  and  trying  to  keep 
peace  with  the  other,  realizing  that  proximity  makes  her 
more  than  a  brother  of  her  continental  kin,  looking  toward 
America  for  applause  and  assistance,  New  Zealand  is 
shaping  a  policy  that  will  probably  become  a  patchwork 
of  colors, — and  most  interesting  to  look  at. 

But  Australia  is  cutting  the  waters  with  the  force  of  a 
triple-screw  turbine.  And  toward  Australia  we  shall 
have  to  look  for  the  leadership  of  British  policy  in  the 
Pacific.  Canada  is  too  close  to  Europe  and  America 
ever  to  become  the  real  leader  in  the  destinies  of  the  Pa- 
cific. The  truth  of  this  statement  becomes  manifest 
when  one  watches  the  inner  workings  of  the  island  con- 
tinent. Though  New  Zealand  is  more  widely  known  for 
its  great  liberalism,  there  is  really  more  freedom  of 
thought  in  Australia,  more  freedom  from  traditional 
thinking,  more  boldness  of  expression.  That  was  mani- 
fest during  the  war  when  the  conscription  issue  came 
up.  The  New  Zealand  Legislature  simply  enacted  a 
conscription  measure.  In  Australia,  the  Government 
tried  twice  to  force  it  through  by  way  of  a  referendum, 
and  twice  it  failed.  William  Morris  Hughes,  the  Prime 
Minister,  had  gone  to  England  to  attend  a  conference, 
promising  that  conscription  would  never  be  proposed. 
He  was  wedded  to  voluntaryism.  When  he  returned, 
Australians  suspected  him  of  having  conscription  up  his 
sleeve.  There  was  an  outburst  of  indignation.  Austra- 
lians charged  him  with  having  had  his  head  turned  by 
fawning  lords  and  ladies  at  "home"  and  with  sidling 
up  to  a  title  himself.  Australians  are  not  very  keen  about 
rank;  in  that  matter  they  are  more  like  Americans. 
Hughes  nearly  committed  political  suicide  by  declaring 
himself  in  favor  of  conscription.  It  is  said  that  he  was 
warned  by  labor  not  to  try  to  put  it  through  without  a 
referendum.  What  happened  then  illuminates  the  Aus- 
tralian character. 

For  weeks  the  country  was  in  as  wild  a  state  as  pend- 


South  Austral 


irnment  Photo 

AUSTRALIA   IS   NOT  ALL   DESERT  AND  PLAIN 


PEOPLE   ARE   SMALL   AMIDST   AUSTRALIA'S   GIANT   TREE   FERNS 
See  the  group  on  the  rocks  at  lower  right-hand  corner 


AUSTRALASIA  289 

ing  civil  war  could  produce  anywhere.  The  feeling  was 
tense.  Conflicts  and  wrangling  occurred  everywhere. 
Up  to  the  last  night  of  the  discussion  it  seemed  as  though 
there  would  be  war.  Then  came  the  day  of  the  vote. 
The  quiet  and  the  orderliness  was  one  of  the  greatest 
boosts  for  democracy  ever  staged.  Everything  was 
bathed  in  sunny  restfulness.  Workingmen  lay  upon  the 
grass  of  the  public  domain  like  seals.  When  they  talked 
it  was  about  anything  but  conscription.  Conscription 
lost.  It  lost  a  second  time  the  year  after.  Two  main 
factors  stood  out  against  the  sending  of  more  men  to 
Europe, — labor  and  Asia. 

Almost  immediately  after  the  referendum  the  coal 
strike  occurred.  The  situation  became  grave.  To  con- 
serve fuel  for  industrial  purposes,  the  Government  pro- 
hibited the  use  of  electricity  and  gas  except  during  speci- 
fied hours.  Places  of  business  on  the  main  streets  were 
lit  with  kerosene  lamps,  movies  were  closed,  the  ferry 
stations  stood  in  semi-darkness.  People  conversed  as 
though  certain  doom  were  impending.  Things  looked 
forlorn  indeed.  Shops  and  factories  were  closing  down, 
throwing  thousands  out  of  work.  One  heard  remarks 
about  things  heading  for  a  revolution. 

Australia  is  reputed  to  have  done  wonders  in  the  way 
of  solving  the  problems  of  capital  and  labor,  but  there 
are  as  many  strikes  in  that  Commonwealth  as  in  any 
other  state.  The  country  is  crystallizing  quickly  and  is 
bound  to  become  more  and  more  conservative.  Despite 
the  worthy  democracy  to  be  found  there,  every  public 
utterance  seemed  to  bear  itself  as  though  made  by  a  lord. 
One  is  constantly  aware  of  the  presence  of  the  crown, 
even  though  it  has  been  removed,  like  the  sense  of  pres- 
sure behind  one's  ears  after  having  taken  off  one's 
spectacles.  For  notwithstanding  its  democracy,  Aus- 
tralia is  bound  up  in  the  monarchy.  Revolution  was 
hinted  at  every  now  and  then,  but  at  its  mention  one  also 
heard  the  creaking  of  the  bones  of  empire.  It  was  evi- 


290  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

dent  and  clear,  though  hardly  spoken.  One  felt  the 
security  which  comes  from  the  accumulation  of  tradition 
and  custom,  but  it  was  not  comfortable.  Even  in  Aus- 
tralia change  seems  to  be  regarded  as  synonymous  with 
destruction.  A  marvelous  structure,  this  British  Em- 
pire, and  fit  for  the  residence  of  any  human  being, — but 
not  an  American.  He  is  too  dynamic,  too  restless,  too 
eager  for  creation. 

And  here  is  where  we  arrive  at  the  point  of  meeting 
and  of  parting  in  our  relations  with  Australia.  America 
has  determined  upon  keeping  the  country  "white" 
against  the  invasion  of  Asia,  So  has  Australia.  But 
America  has  the  inclusive  tendencies  of  an  empire ;  Aus- 
tralia the  exclusive.  America  is  heterogeneous;  Aus- 
tralia is  homogeneous.  American  strikes  are  regarded 
as  importations,  but  what  about  the  strikes  in  Australia? 
America  has  a  population  of  110,000,000  in  an  area  but 
a  little  larger  than  Australia,  while  Australia  has  only  a 
paltry  4,500,000.  America  is  trying  to  amalgamate  the 
diverse  races  it  already  has  without  taking  in  such  people 
as  the  Asiatics,  whose  racial  characters  are  so  unyield- 
ing. But  Australia  is  herself  unyielding.  Homoge- 
neous as  her  population  is,  she  has  great  difficulty  in 
keeping  it  from  disagreement.  With  a  vast  region  not 
likely  to  be  touched  by  labor  in  generations,  Australia 
uses  the  same  arguments  against  outsiders  coming  in  as 
does  America  in  regions  already  well  developed. 

Keeping  Australia  " white"  is  the  keynote  of  all  Aus- 
tralian politics.  For  this  reason  half  of  the  leaders 
waged  war  against  Germany;  while  to  keep  Australia 
white,  the  other  half  stayed  conscription.  Labor  is  at 
the  bottom  of  the  "white"  Australia  policy.  The  most 
serious  problem  the  country  has  to  face  is  her  insufficient 
population.  Yet  what  labor  is  to  be  found  there  receives 
no  more  consideration  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world. 
It  is  no  better  off  than  elsewhere.  There  is  less  poverty 
simply  because  poverty  is  synonymous  with  over- 


AUSTRALASIA  291 

population.  To  protect  itself  against  invasion  of  cheap 
(not  necessarily  Asiatic)  labor,  Australia  passed  the  Im- 
migration Restriction  Act  of  1901.  To  speak  of  restrict- 
ing immigration  into  a  country  containing  only  four  and 
a  half  million  seems  suicidal,  but  Australia  went  at  it 
without  any  trepidation  and  declared  for  the  exclusion 
from  "immigration  into  the  Commonwealth  .  .  .  any  per- 
son who  fails  to  pass  the  dictation  test;  that  is  to  say, 
who,  when  an  officer  dictates  to  him  not  less  than  fifty 
words  in  any  prescribed  language  in  the  presence  of  the 
officer"  fails  to  pass  in  the  judgment  of  the  immigration 
officer.  This  is  the  crux  of  the  Act ;  other  than  that,  re- 
striction is  placed  only  on  those  diseased  or  incapable. 
In  other  words,  this  restriction  places  a  person  failing  in 
the  test  on  a  level  with  the  criminal,  lunatic,  and  the  leper. 
It  is  obviously  a  snare,  for  it  means  that  an  officer  may 
spring  any  language  he  may  choose  on  an  immigrant. 
He  may  ask  a  Frenchman  to  write  Greek,  or  a  Greek 
Spanish,  failure  to  comply  giving  the  officer  the  power  to 
exclude  the  applicant.  The  law  has  kept  Australia 
white,  but  with  pallor  rather  than  purity. 

Veiled  and  unveiled,  this  White- Australia  policy  was 
at  the  bottom  of  the  failure  of  conscription.  The  spirit 
which  dominated  both  camps  was  fear  of  invasion. 
Argued  the  pro-conscriptionist :  "If  we  do  not  stand  be- 
hind the  empire  and  the  Allies  in  this  war,  Prussia  or 
whoever  may  become  her  ally  in  future  will  swoop  down 
upon  us."  Argued  the  anti-conscriptionist :  "If  that  is 
the  danger,  then  let  us  keep  our  men  at  home  to  protect 
us  against  this  possible  peril."  The  antis  were  more 
open.  They  pictured  an  invasion  following  the  sending 
of  men  to  Europe,  and  pointed  to  the  importation  of 
coolies  for  labor  in  Europe.  One  member  of  Parliament 
was  fined  a  thousand  dollars  and  made  to  enter  into 
' '  cognizance  and  comply  with  the  provisions  of  the  Reg- 
ulation" because  he  specified  whom  they  were  afraid  of, 
— Japan.  And  to  add  grist  to  their  mill,  a  hundred  na- 


292  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

tives  of  the  island  of  Malta  (British  subjects,  mind  you) 
appeared  at  the  beautiful  front  door  of  Australia,  Sydney 
Harbor,  and  asked  for  admission.  They  did  not  land. 
Even  Indians  are  excluded,  a  deposit  of  five  hundred  dol- 
lars being  required  of  any  admitted,  to  guarantee  his 
return.  A  transport  has  been  fitted  out  in  Java  with 
native  labor,  but  Australian  workers  refused  to  load  it 
till  the  fittings  were  torn  out  and  done  over  by  Australian 
labor. 

Now,  the  White-Australia  policy  is,  if  you  care  to 
stretch  a  point,  a  humane  attempt  to  avoid  conflict.  The 
Australians  say  to  themselves  and  to  the  world:  "We 
would  rather  call  you  names  across  the  sea  than  scratch 
your  eyes  or  pull  your  ears  over  a  wooden  fence. ' '  They 
point  to  the  American  Civil  War  and  the  present  problem 
in  the  South  as  an  example.  They  wish  to  save  them- 
selves future  operations  by  avoiding  the  cancer  and  are 
willing  to  bear  the  burden  of  retarded  development  for 
this  promised  peace.  Let  us  see  how  it  worked  out. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  1915,  890  Germans 
were  admitted  to  Australia,  and  only  423  Japanese;  in 
1914,  3,395  Germans  and  387  Japanese.  The  number  of 
Germans  for  the  two  years  previous  was  virtually  the 
same,  whereas  that  of  Japanese  fluctuated  from  698  in 
1912  to  822  in  1913,  and  387  in  1914.  From  1908  to  1915 
the  Germans  entered  in  increasing  numbers,  while  the 
Japanese  decreased.  Chinese  gained  admission  in  vastly 
greater  number  than  the  Japanese,  exceeding  them  by 
1,500  and  2,000  yearly.  On  the  whole  the  preponderance 
of  arrivals  over  the  departure  was  seldom  excessive, 
most  of  the  steamers  from  the  south  bound  for  the  Orient 
being  taken  up  by  returning  Asiatics.  With  the  vast 
regions  of  the  island  continent  uninhabited  and  un- 
touched, this  movement  of  Orientals  is  only  evidence  of 
the  check  the  Government  keeps  on  invasion.  The  fal- 
lacy in  the  White-Australia  policy  is  obvious.  Its  psy- 
chological significance  was  pointed  to  above, — a  tendency 


AUSTRALASIA  293 

on  the  part  of  Australians,  though  politically  democrats, 
to  revert  to  habits  of  thought  inherited  from  England. 
England  is  an  island  kingdom,  but  the  Englishman  can- 
not forget  this  even  when  he  has  taken  up  his  home  on 
a  vast  continent  like  Australia.  In  this  day  and  age  of 
steel  ships  and  submarines,  with  possibilities  of  the  air- 
ship clear  before  us,  for  any  one  to  think  in  an  insular 
way  is  to  lack  the  common  sense  of  a  King  Canute.  Aus- 
tralia has  shown  that  even  with  an  enemy  recognized 
and  fought  she  has  been  unable  to  remain  unified  in 
thought,  yet  she  thinks  that  merely  by  excluding  the 
Asiatic  she  will  be  able  to  maintain  her  integrity.  Capi- 
tal in  Australia  would  be  willing  to  admit  the  Oriental 
in  order  to  reduce  the  cost  of  labor;  but  as  soon  as  he 
becomes  a  factor  in  commerce — as  in  the  case  of  the 
Chinese  furniture-makers  who  exploit  Chinese  laborers 
and  undersell  Australian  furniture  manufacturers — 
Capital  becomes  wroth  and  shouts  for  the  exclusion  of 
the  coolie.  Labor,  on  the  other  hand,  swaggering  about 
the  brotherhood  of  man  and  the  common  cause  of  labor 
throughout  the  world,  becomes  just  as  nationalistic  when 
*  'foreign"  labor  threatens  to  undersell  it.  True  that  it 
would  be  easy  enough  to  establish  a  minimum  wage  by 
law,  so  that  no  Chinese  would  be  allowed  to  receive  less 
than  that  wage  for  his  work,  but  the  principle  does  n  't 
work  out  so  easily.  Even  with  a  minimum  wage  and  an 
eight-hour  day,  the  Chinese  with  his  intense  application 
to  his  job  and  his  manner  of  living  would  threaten  the 
white  man.  But  have  we  not  the  same  difficulty  even 
among  a  given  number  of  white  men,  where  some  are 
ready  to  undersell  others?  Australia,  the  experiment- 
station  for  labor  legislation,  is  the  last  country  where  one 
would  expect  to  find  the  exclusiveness  which  she  con- 
demns so  vigorously.  She  has  shown  herself  exclusive 
in  her  discrimination  against  the  English  workingman; 
she  has  even  been  exclusive  in  her  attitude  toward  her 
neighbor,  New  Zealand  (an  exclusiveness,  which  is  recip- 


294  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

rocated,  of  course) ;  and  finally  and  foremost,  she  is 
*  exclusive  of  Asiatic  and  colored  people. 

This  exclusiveness  has  left  a  continent  with  barely 
the  fringe  of  it  scratched.  To  people  like  the  Japanese, 
Chinese  and  Indians,  this  must  indeed  seem  the  height 
of  selfishness.  True,  that  sparse  as  her  population  is, 
Australia  has  done  more  to  better  the  condition  of  her 
people  than  has  Japan  or  China;  and  there  is  the  rub. 
That  mere  excessive  breeding  gives  a  nation  a  right  to 
invade  other  lands  is  a  principle  that  no  decent-minded 
man  could  tolerate  for  a  moment.  Only  people  to  whom 
woman  is  merely  a  breeding-machine  would  advance 
such  an  argument.  And  in  the  chapter  on  Japan  and  the 
Far  East  I  shall  elucidate  the  basic  facts  in  that  conten- 
tion for  the  elimination  of  a  White- Australia  policy. 

From  the  Australian  point  of  view,  though  admitting 
that  hardships  are  bound  to  result,  admitting  that  ethi- 
cally discrimination  is  unprogressive,  the  country  is 
/faced  by  the  danger  of  sheer  numbers.  Idealistically  the 
Australian  policy  is  wrong.  Individually,  those  of  us 
who  know  the  Japanese  and  the  Chinese  would  just  as 
soon  live  next  door  to  them  as  to  any  other  human  beings. 
But  as  long  as  numbers  are  the  racial  ideal  of  the  East, 
there  is  no  solution  that  would  not  undermine  quality 
if  quality  did  not  defend  itself  against  quantity.  I  am 
ready  to  admit  that  there  are  many  Australians  who 
are  as  inferior  to  the  Chinese  as  the  coolie  is  to  us.  But 
the  Australasian  has  one  virtue :  he  does  not  breed  like 
the  Oriental. 

The  problem  of  assimilation  and  Australianization  is 
intricate  and  sometimes  extremely  unjust.  There  is  the 
\  case  of  the  young  Chinese  boy  born  and  brought  up  in 
Port  Darwin,  North  Australia.  In  every  way  he  is  an 
Australian  citizen.  To  further  his  education  and  west- 
ernization, he  came  to  America  to  study  at  Harvard,  and 
here  fell  in  love  with  a  Chinese  student  born  in  Boston. 


AUSTRALASIA  295 

Now,  she  is  an  American  citizen.  They  are  to  be  mar- 
ried. He  has  every  reason  for  wishing  to  return  to 
Port  Darwin  with  his  wife.  But,  says  the  Australian 
Immigration  Law,  you  can't  come  in  because  you  're  a 
Chinese.  "But  I  'm  an  American  Citizen,  and  the  wife 
of  an  Australian,"  she  argues.  "That  doesn't  matter. 
We  exclude  Indians,  who  are  British  subjects,  from  en- 
tering Australia,  and  we  intend  to  exclude  you.  Aus- 
tralia is  the  only  country  in  the  world  in  which  the  white 
race  is  still  free  to  expand,  and  we  intend  to  keep  it  free 
for  them."  "What  is  America  going  to  do  about  it?" 
I  asked  my  informer.  "What  can  she  do?  The  only 
thing  she  could  do  would  be  to  come  to  a  clash  of  arms 
with  us,  and  we  intend  to  let  the  Chinese  do  their  own 
fighting  if  they  want  to.  We  won't  let  Japanese  who 
are  American-born  citizens  enter  Australia ;  we  may  seem 
a  bit  piggish  about  it,  but  we  intend  to  hold  to  our  own 
nevertheless."  This  question  was  up  for  the  British 
Minister  to  decide  upon,  but  at  the  time  of  writing  no 
decision  has  yet  been  arrived  at. 

That  injustice  such  as  the  above  is  bound  to  result  is 
obvious.  But  for  generations  to  come  the  onus  rests  on 
the  Orientals,  and  on  those  white  men  who  would  profit 
by  either  cheap  or  untiring  laborers  whose  minds  ask 
for  nothing,  and  whose  bodies  are  content  with  little. 

Though  Australia 's  contribution  to  the  intellectual  wel- 
fare of  the  world  has  as  yet  been  slim,  the  advance  in 
political  and  economic  thought  has  been  exceedingly 
worth  while.  The  freedom  of  the  individual  to  go  his 
way  in  life,  to  develop  the  best  that  is  in  him,  the  stand- 
ard of  general  welfare  and  the  quality  of  life  as  a  whole 
so  far  excels  the  average  of  Oriental  social  life  that  Aus- 
tralasia is  justified  in  trying  to  prevent  the  dilution  of 
its  concentrated  comfort.  We  all  know  and  admit  that 
both  China  and  Japan  have  civilizations,  intellectual  and 
artistic,  the  like  of  which  might  well  be  emulated  in  the 


296  THE  PACIFIC  TEIANGLE 

West.  But  beneath  it  all  is  the  dreadful  waste  of  human 
life  for  which  China  and  Japan  must  give  answer  before 
demanding  of  the  West  certain  physical  and  material  ad- 
vantages which  we  have. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

JAPAN   AND   ASIA 

WHEN  I  completed  the  final  section  of  my  book 
11  Japan:  Real  and  Imaginary,"  last  year,  and 
sent  it  to  the  publisher,  I  was  not  a  little  worried  lest  the 
movement  of  events  in  the  Far  East  proceed  so  rapidly 
that  the  cart  upon  which  I  was  riding  slip  from  under  me 
and  leave  me  to  rejoin  the  earth  as  best  I  could.  So 
fast  did  things  run  that  I  thought  surely  there  would  be 
a  revolution  in  Japan,  or  at  least  universal  manhood  suf- 
frage, and  that  without  doubt  Japan  would  withdraw 
from  Shantung.  I  am  afraid  I  shall  have  to  confess 
that  the  wish  was  father  to  the  thought.  So  far  nothing 
has  happened  in  that  intricate  island  empire  seriously  to 
affect  any  of  the  generalizations  in  that  book.  Nor  have 
any  criticisms  from  my  Japanese  friends  come  forward 
so  that  I  might  now  be  able  to  alter  my  position  in  any 
way. 

However,  enough  has  happened  to  make  it  necessary 
for  me  to  extend  and  enlarge  upon  some  of  the  phases 
of  the  Japanese  situation  as  they  now  obtain.  In  my 
former  book  I  handled  Japan  as  an  integer,  avoiding  im- 
plications. Here  I  shall  attempt  to  show  how  the  Japa- 
nese phase  of  the  problem  of  the  Pacific  affects  the  three 
important  elements  round  the  Pacific, — America,  Austra- 
lasia, and  Asia.  Under  that  head  I  shall  have  to  begin 
where  I  left  off  in  "Japan:  Real  and  Imaginary,"  with 
the  question  of  emperor-worship  and  its  natural  off- 
spring, Pan-Asianism  and  the  so-called  Monroe  Doctrine 
of  Asia;  with  the  ingrowing  phases  of  it,  democracy  in 
Japan,  and  the  Open  Door  without;  with  Japan's  new 

297 


298  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

mandates  and  what  she  is  doing  with  them;  with  the 
fortification  of  the  Bonin  Islands  and  the  Pescadores. 

At  the  very  outset,  let  me  crystallize  in  one  short  para- 
graph the  essence  of  the  whole  situation.  We  have  in 
Japan  now  a  heterogeneous  nation  whose  ideals  are  es- 
sentially those  of  imperialism,  the  political  grip  on  the 
people  being  based  on  the  worship  of  the  emperor.  The 
outward  consequence  of  this  is  that  the  entire  nation  is 
fairly  united  upon  the  questions  that  affect  the  nation  as 
a  whole,  such  as  Pan-Asianism,  the  leadership  of  Asia. 
But  if  that  were  all,  Japanese  rulers  would  have  things 
pretty  much  their  own  way.  This  strange  consequence 
results,  however, — that  having  been  stimulated  to  feeling 
that  a  Japanese  is  the  most  superior  person  on  earth, 
the  populace,  in  this  pride,  is  demanding  greater  recogni- 
tion for  themselves  as  individuals.  Hence  that  which  the 
military  and  naval  parties  in  Japan  win  in  their  hold 
upon  the  people  through  increased  pride  of  race,  they  lose 
in  the  enhanced  difficulty  which  comes  from  a  restive 
population.  Added  to  which  are  the  numerous  alien  ele- 
ments that  aggression  has  inherited, — a  rebellious  Korea 
and  Formosa,  a  boycotting  China,  and  a  native  element 
that  sees  itself  being  flaunted  by  world  powers  and  un- 
able to  obtain  recognition  of  racial  equality. 

It  is  Japan's  misfortune  that  she  is  still  unable  to 
live  down  her  reputation.  With  all  her  might  she  is 
trying  to  stand  up  to  the  world  as  a  man,  and  not  as  a 
pretty  boy  such  as  she  has  been  regarded  heretofore. 
Hence,  it  is  necessary,  that  after  having  paragraphed 
the  make-up  of  Japan,  I  do  the  same  with  the  attitude 
of  the  world  toward  Japan.  Wherever  I  have  gone  I 
have  been  asked  a  certain  type  of  question  that  seems  to 
me  to  hold  the  mirror  up  to  Japan.  The  questions  are  gen- 
erally these :  What  business  is  it  of  ours,  after  all,  what 
Japan  does  in  Asia!  Isn't  it  only  the  conceit  of  the 
white  man  that  makes  him  regard  himself  as  superior 
to  the  Japanese!  Isn't  it  true  that  the  Japanese 


JAPAN  AND  ASIA  299 

have  n  't  any  room  for  their  surplus  population  ?  Or,  the 
more  knowing,  those  who  have  read  up  on  the  subject — 
like  the  man  who  signed  a  contract  with  a  publisher  to 
produce  four  boys'  books  at  once,  one  of  which  was  on 
Shintoism  in  Japan — assume  this  attitude:  "Let  them 
adore  their  emperors ;  it  's  a  charming  little  peculiar- 
ity." There  is  still  a  third  group.  It  belongs  to  the 
adolescent  class,  to  the  age  of  boys  who  threaten  to  lick 
other  boys  with  their  little  finger,  or  "I  '11  fight  you  with 
my  right  hand  tied  behind  my  back,"  and  has  been  fed  by 
the  romancers  who  portrayed  everything  Japanese  as 
petite  and  charming.  The  Miles  Gloriosus,  suffering 
from  political  second  childhood,  asserts:  "America  could 
wipe  the  floor  with  Japan  with  one  hand,  just  as  she  could 
Ecuador. ' '  This  statement  was  made  by  an  Englishman 
with  remarkably  wide  international  experience. 

Now,  until  Japan  lives  down  this  reputation  she  will 
be  forced  to  make  as  big  a  showing  of  her  might  as  is 
safe,  and  until  then  we  shall  doubtless  have  ample  reason 
for  shouting  for  an  increased  navy  and  an  increased 
army.  In  other  words,  as  long  as  we  continue  to  publish 
the  impression  that  Japan  need  not  be  regarded  seriously, 
so  long  will  Japan  have  to  continue  to  convey  the  impres- 
sion that  she  might  become  a  menace.  To  deny  that 
Japan  is  a  disconcerting  problem  is  to  stick  one's  head 
in  the  sand.  But  Japan  is  no  more  of  a  menace  to  us 
than  we  are  to  her.  Japan  is  not  simply  going  to  walk 
across  the  Pacific  and  slap  us  in  the  face.  If  any  such 
catastrophe  takes  place  over  there,  it  will  be  a  conflict. 
"A  conflict  supposes  a  violent  collision,  a  meeting  of 
force  against  force ;  the  unpremeditated  meeting  of  one 
or  more  persons  in  a  violent  or  hostile  manner"  with 
another,  according  to  Crabb.  On  the  other  hand,  it  ia 
equally  true  that  those  who  urge  and  stimulate  war  talk 
with  Japan  are  playing  into  the  hands  of  special  interests 
that  are  too  narrow  in  their  thinking  and  too  broad  in 
their  avarice,  and  make  war  inevitable. 


300  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

There  is  only  one  solution,  and  that  is  the  presentation 
of  facts.  But  facts  alone  are  sometimes  worse  than  fig- 
ures. They  lie  like  a  trooper.  Hence  we  are  in  the  habit 
of  saying :  It  is  an  honest  fact.  Facts  are  the  most  irre- 
sponsible things  in  the  world,  and  without  the  motives  and 
the  spirit  that  underlie  every  circumstantial  thing  in  life, 
they  are  the  source  of  all  conflict  and  all  sorrow.  There- 
fore, let  us  consider  the  questions  that  appear  to  be  typi- 
cal enough  to  clarify  the  situation,  but  with  the  motives 
and  spiritual  factors  included  in  the  answer. 

First  of  all,  then,  is  it  really  any  of  our  business  what 
Japan  does  in  Asia?  I  shall  have  to  split  this  question 
in  two.  The  "our"  side  of  the  matter  will  have  to  be 
answered  in  the  succeeding  chapter  on  America  in  this 
Pacific  Triangle.  Here  I  shall  handle  it  by  inverting  it. 
Is  it  any  of  Japan's  business  what  interest  we  take  in 
Asia?  This  may  sound  like  a  pugnacious  question,  but 
it  is  asked  with  all  due  respect  to  Japan.  It  raises  the 
question  of  the  Open  Door  in  China,  of  Pan-Asianism, 
of  the  misnamed  Monroe  Doctrine  of  Asia.  "We  have 
come  to  a  new  stage  in  the  history  of  the  world.  People 
with  a  developed  sense  of  justice  no  longer  admit  that  a 
man  may  declare  himself  monarch  of  all  he  surveys  with- 
out consideration  of  the  rights  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
"surveyed"  areas.  When,  during  the  war,  everything 
was  being  done  to  placate  Japan,  a  certain  "understand- 
ing" was  reached  between  Secretary  Lansing  and  Vis- 
count Ishii.  While  declaring  for  the  Open  Door  it  ac- 
knowledged the  precedence  of  propinquity  over  distance, 
of  time,  place,  and  relationship.  That  is,  it  admitted 
that  Japan  was  nearer  the  continent  of  Asia  geographi- 
cally than  was  America.  A  very  remarkable  observa- 
tion it  was.  Certainly  had  that  not  been  put  in  black 
and  white,  "understanding"  would  never  have  been  pos- 
sible. But  what  was  the  result  of  that  "understanding"! 
Japan  immediately  translated  it  into  a  "Monroe 
Doctrine  of  Asia."  Here,  then,  was  a  fact.  Japan 


JAPAN  AND  ASIA  301 

most  decidedly  is  nearer  Asia  than  are  we.  Ergo,  Japan 
has  the  right  to  set  herself  up  as  the  god  and  little 
Father  of  China,  to  declare  the  Mikado  Doctrine  of 
Asia.  But  is  there  any  parallel  whatsoever?  Not  only 
no  parallel,  but  an  apparent  contradiction  in  the  use 
of  the  Monroe  Doctrine  from  the  American  angle;  for 
that  pronouncement  involved  non-interference  in  Euro- 
pean or  foreign  affairs.  If  we  adhere  strictly  to  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  we  have  no  right  to  set  any  limitations 
for  Japan.  Our  concern  is  only  with  the  Americas.  Even 
the  amount  of  understanding  involved  in  the  Ishii-Lan- 
sing  agreement  is  in  violation  of  our  doctrine  of  isolation. 
On  the  other  hand,  we  virtually  pledged  ourselves  to  keep 
our  own  hands  off  South  America.  Hence,  the  Monroe 
Doctrine,  if  applied  to  Asia  by  Japan,  would  mean  the  de- 
nouncement of  the  Twenty-one  Demands  made  on  China 
in  1915,  the  withdrawal  of  Japanese  troops  from  Shan- 
tung and  Siberia,  the  return  of  independence  to  Korea, — 
and  then  the  demand  on  the  part  of  Japan  that  all  Euro- 
pean powers  abstain  from  further  extension  of  their  influ- 
ence on  the  continent  of  Asia.  If  ever  a  Monroe  Doctrine 
of  Asia  was  really  declared,  it  was  in  the  principles  of 
Hay  in  his  Open-Door  policy.  If  Japan  should  set  herself 
up  as  the  guardian  of  Asia  in  this  wise,  she  would  never 
raise  the  question  of  whether  we  have  any  business  in  Asia 
or  not.  It  would  not  be  necessary.  And  Japan  would  be 
able  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  propinquity  to  her  heart's 
content.  Then  Japan  would  truly  be  the  sponsor  for  a 
doctrine  that  could  be  called  the  Mikado's  Doctrine  of 
Asia  and  its  worth  would  recommend  itself  to  the  respect 
and  admiration  of  the  world.  But  this,  of  course,  is  a 
dream,  and  in  the  words  of  a  worthy  Japanese  author 
who  " deplored"  in  his  book  "the  gross  diplomatic 
blunder  which  Japan  made  in  1915  in  her  dealings  with 
China'*  and  the  "atrocities  perpetrated  in  the  attempt 
to  crush  the  Korean  uprising":  "Manifestly,  the  dawn 


302  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

of  the  millennium  is  still  far  away,  We  have  to  make 
the  best  of  the  world  as  it  is." 

Into  these  criticisms  of  Japan's  foreign  policies  one 
could  read  the  usual  white  man's  conceit, — asking  that 
a  yellow  man  make  such  sacrifices  as  no  white  man  has 
ever  made.  There  is  nothing  further  from  my  mind. 
There  is  only  a  groping  down  into  the  depths  of  Jap- 
anese practices  to  discover,  if  possible,  a  real  basis  for 
the  justification  of  her  Pan-Asiatic  pretensions. 

To  me,  Oriental  civilization  is  something  to  conjure 
with. 

There  is  in  the  Far  East  more  art  and  beauty  than 
there  is  in  America.  When  Europe  was  so  poor  as  to 
make  the  Grand  Moguls  laugh  at  the  simple  presents 
which  Englishmen  brought  them,  to  remark  with  scorn 
and  truth  that  nothing  in  Europe  compared  with  the  silks 
and  gold  and  silver  of  the  East,  the  white  man  was  hum- 
ble. He  wandered  all  over  the  world  in  search  of  riches 
which  were  unknown  to  him  except  by  hearsay.  His 
dominions  never  extended  over  such  vast  spaces  as 
seemed  mere  checker-boards  to  Oriental  monarchs.  But 
the  white  man  had  his  ships,  his  latent  genius,  and  these 
he  has  developed  to  where  his  realms  now  so  far  out- 
strip the  realms  of  old  as  thought  outstrips  creation. 
With  these  the  white  man  has  secured  for  himself  a  place 
in  the  world  which  the  brown  and  the  yellow  man  now 
greatly  envy.  But  the  Asiatics  have  much  to  look  back 
upon  and  be  proud  of. 

How  much  of  this  splendor  is  Japan's!  A  great  deal ! 
But  not  as  much  as  the  splendor  of  China,  nor  as  much 
as  that  of  India.  Japan  is  to  the  East  what  England  is 
to  Europe.  Japan  is  building  up  her  ships  and  her  ma- 
terial arts  to  such  an  extent  that  she  is  destined  to  wield 
and  does  now  partly  wield  the  same  influence  in  Asia  that 
England  wields  in  Europe.  But  is  that  to  be  her  sole  con- 
tribution? Is  that  to  justify  her  place  as  leader  of 
Asia?  Let  us  sces 


JAPAN  AND  ASIA  303 

In  Europe  to-day  there  is  no  crowned  head  who  really 
rules.  The  monarch,  where  he  does  exist,  is  the  memorial 
symbol  of  the  nation 's  past.  But  the  basis  of  rule  is  the 
people.  The  extent  to  which  democracy  exists  in  fact  is 
not  for  this  chapter  to  discuss.  The  slogan  of  ruler- 
ship  is  democracy.  Even  China  calls  itself  a  republic. 
Bound  the  Pacific  alone  are  three  great  republican  or 
democratic  countries — Australia,  New  Zealand,  America 
— whose  people  are  reaching  for  greater  and  greater  in- 
dependence in  the  working  out  of  their  own  destinies. 

But  what  have  we  in  Japan!  We  have  a  monarchy 
with  a  ''constitutional"  form  of  government.  The  mon- 
arch is  said  to  have  held  his  power  from  the  beginning 
of  time.  He  is  literally  regarded  as  a  descendant  of  the 
gods  who  created  Japan, — which  was  then  the  world  en- 
tire. The  myth  of  his  origin  would  not  be  very  different 
from  any  other  myth  of  the  origins  of  rulers,  were  it 
not  for  the  recent  developments  in  the  history  of  Japan. 
At  the  time  of  the  restoration  of  the  previous  emperor 
to  power,  it  was  decided  by  the  rebellious  daimyo  that 
the  long-neglected  mikado,  he  who  for  hundreds  of  years 
had  had  absolutely  no  say  in  the  government  of  his 
lands,  should  be  restored  to  power.  That  is  to  say,  be- 
cause there  was  no  one  daimyo  who  could  himself  take 
the  leadership  and  become  shogun,  they  determined  to 
rule  with  the  tenno  as  nominal  leader,  but  themselves 
as  the  real  rulers.  Other  than  in  the  superstitious  rev- 
erence of  the  ignorant  masses  for  the  symbol  of  the 
tenno — whose  person  they  had  never  seen — that  lowly 
illustrious  one  might  just  as  well  have  been  non-existent 
for  all  the  say  he  had  in  his  country's  affairs.  So  far,  the 
situation  might  not  be  different  from  that  in  England, 
but  England's  Parliament  is  in  the  control  of  the  Com- 
mons, while  Japan's  Diet — both  upper  and  lower  houses 
— is  at  the  mercy  of  the  cabinet,  which,  though  ostensibly 
responsible  to  the  emperor,  is  actually  in  the  control 
of  the  genro  and  the  military  and  naval  clans.  The 


304  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

worship  of  the  emperor,  on  the  other  hand,  is  made  part 
of  the  political  function,  the  hetter  to  cow  the  masses 
into  reverential  ohedience  to  the  wishes  of  the  actual 
rulers. 

The  basis  for  this  theocratical  grip  on  the  people  is 
Shintoism.  With  the  Restoration  in  1868,  Shintoism, 
that  ancestor-worshiping  cult,  was  revived  as  the  spirit- 
ual core  of  the  new  empire ;  Buddhism  was  sent  packing, 
and  all  the  cunning  of  pseudo-historians  was  resorted  to 
to  bolster  up  this  effete  and  primitive  national  ideal. 

"Let  them  worship  their  old  emperor,"  say  some, 
largely  those  with  a  love  of  pageantry  in  their  uncon- 
scious. And  no  one  could  raise  an  argument  against 
this  if  that  was  where  it  ended.  If  it  merely  meant  the 
binding  together  in  a  communal  nationalism  the  thought 
and  devotion  of  the  people,  it  would  be  a  desirable  per- 
formance. But  the  natural  result  of  an  artificially 
stimulated  nationalism  based  on  a  myth  and  a  deception 
is  that  it  becomesi  proselytic  in  its  tendencies.  It  is  not 
satisfied  with  its  native  influence,  but  begins  to  reach 
out.  In  other  words,  it  takes  upon  itself  the  duty  of 
making  the  entire  world  one,  just  as  religion  and  democ- 
racy seek  to  convert  the  world.  And  Shintoism  is  a 
short  step  to  Pan-Asianism.  Pan-Asianism  is  the  logical 
consequence  of  Shintoism. 

What  is  Shintoism  ?  In  this  connection,  none  is  more 
authoritative  than  Basil  Hall  Chamberlain,  Emeritus 
Professor  of  Japanese  and  Philology  at  the  Imperial 
University  of  Tokyo,  and  author  of  numerous  scientific 
works  on  Japan.  In  "The  Invention  of  a  New  Religion" 
he  says  (page  6) : 

Agnostic  Japan  is  teaching  us  at  this  very  hour  how  religions  are 
sometimes  manufactured  for  a  special  end— to  observe  practical  worldly 
purposes. 

Mikado-worship  and  Japan-worship — for  that  is  the  new  Japanese 
religion — is,  of  course,  no  spontaneously  generated  phenomenon. 
Every  manufacture  presupposes  a  material  out  of  which  it  is  made, 
every  present  a  past  on  which  it  rests.  But  the  twentieth-century 
Japanese  religion  of  loyalty  and  patriotism  is  quite  new,  for  in  it  pre- 


JAPAN'S   FIRST   REACTION   TO   FOREIGN   INFLUENCE 


SECOND   STAGE   IN   WESTERNIZATION 
Some  of  my  students  leaving  Kobe  for  a  cross-country  hike 


THIRD   STAGE   IN   WESTERNIZATION 
This  is  not  England,  but  Shioya,  Japan 


FOURTH  STAGE   IN   WESTERNIZATION 
This  is  not  Manchester,  but  Osaka,  Japan 


305 

existing  ideas  have  been  sifted,  altered,  freshly  compounded,  turned 
to  new  uses,  and  have  found  a  new  center  of  gravity.  .  .  .  Shinto,  a 
primitive  nature  cult,  which  had  fallen  into  discredit,  was  taken  out  of 
its  cupboard  and  dusted. 

Thus  Shintoism,  a  cult  without  any  code  of  morals, 
in  which  nature  was  worshiped  in  primitive  fashion,  was 
made  the  basis  of  the  national  ideal.  There  is  nothing 
in  Shintoism  that  might  with  the  greatest  possible  stretch 
of  imagination  become  the  ideal  of  any  other  nation  in 
the  world.  However  much  Japan  might  assume  the 
economic  leadership  of  Asia,  it  would  never  be  because 
she  could  obtain  a  following  for  her  Shinotistic  ideals. 
"Democracy"  has  become  a  rallying  cry  even  to  the 
Japanese,  but  there  is  nothing  in  Shintoism  that  might 
counteract  that  appeal. 

''What  about  Bushido  ?"  Japanese  will  ask.  Regard- 
ing this,  it  is  also  well  to  read  what  Professor  Chamber- 
lain has  to  say : 

As  to  Bushido,  so  modern  a  thing  is  it  that  neither  Kaempfer,  Siebold, 
Satow,  nor  Rein — all  men  knowing  their  Japan  by  heart — ever  once 
allude  to  it  in  their  voluminous  writings.  The  cause  of  their  silence 
is  not  far  to  seek :  Bushido  was  unknown  until  a  decade  or  two  ago ! 
The  very  word  appears  in  no  dictionary,  native  or  foreign,  before  the 
year  1900.  Chivalrous  individuals  of  course  existed  in  Japan,  as  in 
all  countries  at  every  period;  but  Bushido  as  an  institution  or  a  code 
of  rules,  has  never  existed.  The  accounts  given  of  it  have  been  fabri- 
cated out  of  whole  cloth,  chiefly  for  foreign  consumption.  An  analysis 
of  medieval  Japanese  history  shows  that  the  great  feudal  houses,  so 
far  from  displaying  an  excessive  idealism  in  the  matter  of  fealty 
to  one  emperor,  one  lord,  or  one  party,  had  evolved  the  eminently 
practical  plan  of  letting  different  members  take  different  sides,  so 
that  the  family  as  a  whole  might  come  out  as  winner  in  any  event, 
and  thus  avoid  the  confiscation  of  its  lands.  Cases,  no  doubt,  occurred 
of  devotion  to  losing  causes — for  example,  to  Mikados  in  disgrace;  but 
they  were  less  common  than  in  the  more  romantic  West. 

And  when  it  is  further  taken  into  consideration  that 
Bushido,  or  the  so-called  code  of  the  samurai,  was  the 
ideal  of  a  special  class,  a  class  that  held  itself  aloof  from 
contact  with  the  heimwi,  or  common  people,  whom  it  at 
at  all  times  treated  with  contempt,  and  cut  down  even 
for  no  other  reason  than  that  of  trying  the  edge  of  a 
new  sword,  one  sees  how  utterly  unacceptable  it  would 


306  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

be  to  peoples  of  other  races  and  nations  asked  to  come 
to  the  support  of  its  standards.  And  according  to  one 
Japanese  spokesman  in  America,  only  by  methods  that 
"had  the  appearance  of  browbeating  her  to  submission 
by  brandishing  the  sword ' '  was  China  brought  to  accept 
the  infamous  Twenty-one  Demands. 

I  search  my  memory  and  experience  earnestly  trying 
to  find  a  basis  for  Japan's  leadership  in  Asia  that  is 
not  materialistic,  and  I  cannot  find  any.  Energy  and 
intellectual  capacity  Japan  has.  Her  present  leadership 
in  practical  affairs  is  a  great  credit  to  her.  In  time,  when 
greater  leisure  will  become  the  possession  of  her  teeming 
millions,  there  is  doubtless  going  to  appear  much  more 
that  is  fine  and  valuable  in  the  fabric  of  the  race.  For 
Japan  has  fire.  Her  people  are  an  excitable,  flaming 
people  who  may  burst  out  in  a  spasmodic  revulsion 
against  their  commercialization.  But  for  the  time  being, 
her  only  right  to  a  voice  in  the  destinies  of  Asia  is  found 
in  her  industrial  leadership  of  the  East,  but  that  is  a 
leadership  which  is  fraught  with  more  menace  to  Japan 
than  to  the  world. 

Let  us  review  hastily  the  results  of  this  preeminence. 
From  being  one  of  the  most  admired  nations  in  the  world, 
Japan  has  suddenly  become  the  object  of  almost  univer- 
sal suspicion.  To  a  very  great  extent,  commercial  jeal- 
ousy is  playing  its  part  in  this  change.  But  that  is  not 
all,  by  any  means.  There  is  as  much  enmity  between 
British  and  American  traders  in  the  Far  East  as  there 
is  between  Japanese  and  American,  or  any  other  two 
groups  of  nationals. 

But  the  animosity  toward  Japan  is  deeper  than  that 
of  mere  trade.  It  lies  at  the  bottom  of  much  of  the 
seeming  equivocation  of  Japan's  best  foreign  friends. 
I  was  talking  recently  to  one  of  the  leading  members 
of  the  Japan  Society  in  New  York,  and  said  of  myself 
that  I  deplored  being  regarded  as  anti-Japanese  in  some 
quarters,  because  I  was  not.  "But,"  spoke  up  this  Jap- 


JAPAN  AND  ASIA  307 

anophile,  "the  majority  of  the  members  of  the  Japan 
Society  are  anti- Japanese,  or  pro-Chinese,  if  you  will." 
They  are  trying  their  best  to  defend  Japan,  it  would 
seem,  and  to  cement  bad  relations  with  good,  but  the 
result  is  that  the  ground  of  many  sympathizers  of  Japan 
is  constantly  shifting,  though  perhaps  unconsciously.  It 
is  due,  I  presume,  to  the  disappointment  of  people  in  that, 
having  regarded  Japan  as  worthy  of  their  sympathy  and 
adoration,  they  are  now  finding  that  all  is  not  as  well  as  it 
might  be. 

Then  there  is  that  peculiar  twist  to  Japanese  psychol- 
ogy that  somewhat  unnerves  the  Westerner.  This  is  not 
a  language  difficulty,  though  it  is  best  illustrated  by  a 
linguistic  example.  A  Canadian  in  Kobe  told  me  that  he 
felt  a  strange  shifting  in  his  own  mentality  as  a  result 
of  the  study  of  Japanese,  something  queer  entered  his 
thinking  processes.  This  is  of  course  absurd  as  a  concrete 
argument,  but  it  indicates  that  which  I  am  striving  to 
uncover  in  the  Japanese  mind  and  method  which  works 
upon  the  Western  mind,  and  puzzles  and  perplexes  the 
white  man  in  his  relations  with  the  Japanese.  And  in 
the  wider  fields  of  Japanese  life,  it  makes  us  tighten  our 
muscles  when  we  survey  and  weigh  the  expressions  of 
the  best  Japanese  minds,  expressions  by  which  they  hope, 
earnestly  no  doubt,  to  better  our  relations  with  them. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  growth  of  democracy.  As  I  have 
said,  when  I  left  Japan  it  was  with  a  sense  of  revolution 
impending.  Agitation  had  got  so  far  out  of  bonds  that  it 
seemed  nothing  but  complete  collapse  of  the  Government 
could  follow.  The  agitation  has  gone  on,  violent  expres- 
sions are  often  used,  democracy  is  hailed  and  Japanese 
"propagandists"  abroad  assert  with  a  boldness  that  is 
inexplicable  their  faith  in  democracy  and  their  hatred  of 
militarism  and  bureaucracy.  But  democracy  in  Japan 
is  virtually  non-existent.  Japan  is  to-day  no  nearer  lib- 
eralism than  Russia  was  in  1905.  One  dreads  to  make 
parallels,  when  one  thinks  how  it  was  that  Russia  got 


308  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

rid  of  her  czars,  that  the  dreadful  war  in  Europe  alone 
made  it  possible  for  a  change  in  the  Russian  Govern- 
ment. Is  it  going  to  take  such  a  war  to  accomplish  this 
in  Japan?  Some  of  the  most  ardent  Japanese  in  Amer- 
ica boldly  answer,  "Yes." 

Again,  China!  Many  Japanophiles  will  say  that  our 
love  of  China  is  based  on  our  trade  with  her,  and  her 
own  weakness  to  resist  it,  while  at  the  same  time  pointing 
to  our  enormous  trade  with  Japan  as  proof  of  friend- 
ship. That  is  false.  True,  that,  compared  with  Japan, 
China  is  no  "menace"  to  America.  But  though  China  is 
the  root  of  our  problem,  there  is  something  in  the  nature 
of  the  true  Oriental  that  makes  him  charming,  jovial, 
childlike  and  lovable.  Japan  is,  of  course,  not  truly 
Oriental.  Japan  is  essentially  Malay,  mixed  with  some 
Oriental  and  a  little  Caucasian.  But  in  the  two  and  a  half 
years  of  my  residence  in  Japan  I  did  not  once  come 
across  a  white  person  who  had  that  same  unexplainable 
admiration  for  the  native  that  is  the  outstanding  charac- 
teristic of  white  men  in  China.  Be  that  as  it  may — and 
that  is,  after  all,  a  personal  matter — that  which  enters 
into  the  Sino-Japanese  problem  is  the  attitude  of  the 
Japanese  to  the  Chinese.  None  was  so  ready  to  exalt  the 
Japanese  as  were  the  foreigners  after  the  Boxer  uprising 
in  1900.  Then  the  Japanese  were  hailed  for  their  helpful- 
ness and  their  dexterity.  But  the  manner  of  Japanese  in 
China  to-day  goes  against  the  grain  of  people.  They 
ask  themselves  constantly:  For  nearly  seven  years 
Japan  has  promised  faithfully  to  withdraw  from  Shan- 
tung, and  her  promises  are  as  earnestly  being  expressed 
to-day.  Is  it,  then,  so  hard  to  remove  troops?  Not  so 
hard  to  move  them  in,  it  seems. 

Those  of  us  who  listen  to  Japanese  promises  are  from 
Missouri.  Japan  in  conjunction  with  the  Allies  sent 
troops  to  Siberia  to  "protect"  Vladivostok.  Each  of  the 
Allies  were  supposed  to  send  seven  thousand  troops. 
Japan  sent  close  to  one  hundred  thousand.  She  has 


JAPAN  AND  ASIA  309 

earnestly  promised  to  withdraw  them  ever  since.    "Why 
are  they  not  withdrawn1? 

Then  comes  the  hardest  thing  of  all  to  reconcile  with 
her  promises, — Japan's  actions  in  Korea.  It  is  easy  to 
sentimentalize  over  the  fate  of  nations.  Korea's  inde- 
pendence is  a  slogan  that  does  n't  mean  much,  though 
Korea  claims  four  thousand  years  of  civilized  existence. 
An  independent  Korea  does  n't  offer  very  great  promise, 
even  if  one  is  constrained  to  sympathize  with  her  aspira- 
tion for  independence.  Korea  might  just  as  well  be  an 
integer  of  the  Japanese  Empire.  She  had  ample  time  in 
which  to  expel  foreign  intriguers  and  denounce  her  own 
grafters,  for  the  sake  of  independence,  years  ago.  But 
what  has  that  to  do  with  Japanese  atrocities  in  Korea? 
What  has  that  to  do  with  the  action  of  Japanese  mer- 
chants who,  according  to  Japan's  own  envoy  to  Korea, 
Count  Inouye,  acted  worse  than  conquerors.  Count 
Inouye  said : 

All  the  Japanese  are  overbearing  and  rude  in  their  dealings  with 
the  Koreans.  .  .  .  The  Japanese  are  not  only  overbearing  but  violent 
in  their  attitude  towards  the  Koreans.  When  there  is  the  slightest 
misunderstanding,  they  do  not  hesitate  to  employ  their  fists.  Indeed, 
it  is  not  uncommon  for  them  to  pitch  Koreans  into  the  river,  or  to 
cut  them  down  with  swords.  If  merchants  commit  these  acts  of  vio- 
lence, the  conduct  of  those  who  are  not  merchants  may  well  be  imag- 
ined. They  say:  "We  have  made  you  an  independent  nation,  we 
have  saved  you  from  the  Tonghaks,  whoever  dares  to  reject  our  advice 
or  oppose  our  actions  is  an  ungrateful  traitor."  Even  military  coolies 
use  language  like  that  towards  the  Koreans/ 

The  atrocities  in  Korea  committed  by  the  Japanese 
in  the  uprising  of  1919  would  parallel  the  most  exagger- 
ated reports  of  what  happened  to  Belgium.  Yet  Amer- 
ica's treaty  with  the  Kingdom  of  Korea,  ignored  when 
Japan  annexed  the  empire  in  1910,  has  never  been  abro- 
gated. Where  is  Bushido  in  Japan,  that  it  does  not  rise 
in  indignation  at  these  atrocities'?  It  has  done  so,  but 
so  faintly  that  it  might  just  as  well  have  saved  itself  the 
effort.  Apology  after  apology,  but  atrocity  following 

*In  NicM,  Nichi  SMrmun,  quoted  by  Professor  Longford  in  The  Story 
of  Korea,  pp.  137-338. 


310  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

each  apology  with  the  same  inexorable  mthlessness  of 
fate.  Likewise,  the  massacres  in  Nikolajevks,  and  Chien- 
tao  are  still  unanswered.  They  require  a  public  apology 
of  some  sort. 

If  I  am  charged  with  deliberately  selecting  things  de- 
rogatory to  Japan,  I  can  only  say  that  nothing,  in  my 
mind,  that  Japan  may  have  done  for  the  good  of  Korea 
and  of  the  world,  none  of  the  virtues  which  Japan  pos- 
sesses can  ever  counterbalance  these  crimes.  Yet  intelli- 
gent Japanese  write: 

Fortunately,  a  change  of  heart  has  come  to  the  Mikado's  Govern- 
ment .  .  .  there  will  be  established  ...  a  School  Council  to  discuss 
matters  relating  to  education.  [No  mention  is  made  of  the  up-rooting 
of  the  native  language.]  The  step  may  be  slow,  but  the  goal  is  sure. 
Korea's  union  with  Japan  was  consummated  after  the  bitter  experience 
of  two  sanguinary  wars  and  the  mature  deliberation  of  the  best  minds 
of  the  two  peoples. 

The  italics  are  mine.  Who  were  these  minds?  No 
mention  is  made  of  the  assassination  of  the  Korean 
Queen  by  Japanese,  later  "  exonerated. "  In  other 
words,  now  that  the  lion  has  eaten  the  lamb  he  is  going 
to  tell  the  lamb  the  best  way  in  which  he  can  be  digested, 
for  they  are  "  discussing  matters "  to  their  mutual  ad- 
vantage. 

One  is  inclined  to  become  bitter  in  the  rehearsal  of 
such  facts,  the  feeling  being  induced  by  the  evasive 
apologies  of  rhetoricians.  But  these  outstanding  facts 
must  be  faced  if  any  true  judgment  can  be  formed  of 
Japan's  position  in  the  Far  East :  If  it  is  her  aim  merely 
to  dominate  in  Asia,  then  Japan  has  set  out  to  do  it  mas- 
terfully. But  if  the  leadership  of  the  yellow  race  is  her 
aim,  if  Pan-Asianism  means  the  uplifting  of  all  Orien- 
tal races  now  under  the  heel  of  the  white  race,  then 
Japan  has  chosen  the  most  unfortunate  line  of  action. 
She  is  running  an  obstacle  race  in  which  the  silken  gar- 
ments of  Bushido  are  likely  to  suffer  considerable  wear 
and  tear.  Credit  Japan  deserves  for  her  administra- 
tive ability.  Certain  it  is  that  no  country  in  the  Orient 


JAPAN  AND  ASIA  311 

to-day  has  the  same  capacity  to  rule  that  Japan  has.  In 
international  affairs,  Japan  has  proved  herself  a  match 
for  the  shrewdest  diplomats  of  the  Western  world.  It 
is  not  to  be  marveled  at  that  the  yellow  races  should  be 
willing  to  yield  her  her  position  and  her  prestige. 
Thousands  of  Chinese  who  could  not  afford  a  Western 
education  are  now  being  educated  in  the  universities  of 
Japan ;  many  Indians  are  doing  likewise.  In  the  simple 
matter  of  road-building,  Japan  has  done  what  few  Ori- 
ental countries  seem  to  have  the  capacity  to  do.  It  is 
natural  that  the  Orient  should  look  to  Japan  for  leader- 
ship in  government  and  industry,  in  direction  and  help. 
But  is  Japan  giving  it? 

The  experiences  of  Tagore  in  Japan  are  not  reassur- 
ing. He  turned  from  Japan  as  from  a  gross  imitator 
of  the  West  from  which  he  had  escaped.  He  expressed 
keen  disappointment  at  what  he  saw  in  modern  Japan. 
In  the  ' '  New  York  Times, ' '  recently,  there  was  an  article 
by  a  Chinese  called  "The  Uncivilized  United  States," 
the  thesis  of  the  writer  being  that  the  Americans  lacked 
the  gentlemanliness  of  the  English.  The  Chinese  was 
obviously  a  great  admirer  of  the  Japanese  and  repeated 
over  and  over  again  that  the  Tokugawas  were  great 
rulers  because  they  advocated  the  rule  by  "tenderness  of 
heart ' ' ;  but  he,  too,  despaired  of  the  modern  Japan,  of  its 
great  industries  and  little  heart. 

That,  of  course,  has  been  the  oft-repeated  criticism 
of  America  from  older  countries,  and  need  not  discour- 
age Japan.  But  Japan  is  making  that  greater  error  of 
believing  that  a  world  which  has  won  civil  liberty  and 
enlightenment  after  so  many  centuries  of  strife,  has 
builded  for  the  masses  at  least  a  semblance  of  economic 
freedom  and  democracy,  is  going  to  yield  all  this 
blithely  to  an  antiquated  ideal  of  Oriental  imperialism 
that  has  not  even  the  virtues  of  Oriental  mysticism  to 
recommend  it. 


CHAPTER  XX 

AMERICA 


JOHNNY  APPLESEED,  whose  real  name  was  John 
Chapman,  ended  his  career  at  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana, 
in  1847.  Step  by  step  he  made  his  way  over  the  wilder- 
ness, winning  the  good-will  of  the  pioneers  and  the  devo- 
tion of  the  Indians,  and  planting  apple-seeds  which  time 
nourished  into  orchards.  Johnnie  Appleseed  has  been 
glorified  by  Vachel  Lindsay, — and  with  him,  not  a  little 
of  the  richness  of  life  that  went  into  the  make-up  of 
America. 

Unfortunately,  Johnny  Appleseed  died  in  Indiana,  at 
the  early  age  of  seventy-two.  Had  he  lived  twice  as 
long  he  would  most  likely  have  reached  the  coast.  By 
most  he  was  regarded  as  rather  a  queer  character,  but 
there  were  men  who  felt  the  current  of  greatness  in  his 
being,  and  to-day  Johnny  Appleseed  might  well  be  hailed 
as  the  symbol  of  America. 

For  if  the  virtue  of  England  lay  in  that  process  of 
selection  which  was  the  result  of  "the  roving  of  a  race 
with  piratical  and  poetic  instincts  invading  old  England 
where  few  stocks  arrived  save  by  stringent  selection  of 
the  sea, ' '  how  much  more  is  the  hardihood  of  pioneering 
the  very  bone  and  marrow  of  America.  For  the  sifting 
process  here  did  not  end  merely  by  the  crossing  of  the 
Atlantic.  To  those  who  broke  through  the  fears  of  the 
Atlantic,  lanced  the  gathering  ills  of  Europe,  that  East- 
ern ocean  was  only  the  symbol  of  a  tradition.  The  way 
has  been  kept  open  by  the  passage  of  millions  of  men  and 
women  and  children  who,  year  after  year,  for  four  cen- 

8ia 


AMERICA  313 

turies,  have  been  invading  young  America.  But  what  is 
that  coming  compared  with  the  arduous  reaching  out 
across  the  wilderness  of  this  vast  continent  itself,  a 
reaching  that  left  its  mile-stones  in  the  form  of  log  cabins, 
graves,  and  roaring  cities.  Following  the  trade-winds  or 
beating  up  against  the  billows  of  the  Northern  seas  was 
a  joyous  pastime  compared  with  the  windless  waiting  and 
tireless  pressing  on  of  the  prairie  schooner.  The  con- 
quest of  the  mountains,  of  the  Mississippi,  of  the  tree- 
less plains,  of  the  desert,  and  of  the  rocky  barriers  in  the 
farthest  West  is  a  story  replete  with  tragic  episodes, 
and  it  is  destined  to  become  the  dominating  tradition  of 
America. 

It  is  a  strange  story,  and  because  it  was  essentially  so 
lowly  in  its  early  impulse,  because  it  was  seemingly  a 
secondary  phenomenon,  snobs  and  cynics  dispose  of  it 
with  indifference.  The  movement  westward  was  under- 
taken by  men  of  small  means  and  little  culture.  Pathetic 
in  its  simple  requirements,  seeking  fortunes  that  always 
lay  on  the  fringe  of  fortune,  moving  on  with  a  restless- 
ness that  seemed  to  despise  rest  and  ease,  it  still  left  in 
its  wake  sorrows  that  approached  tragedy  but  never 
felt  it.  If  "Main  Street"  is  a  necessary  corrective, 
4 'The  Son  of  the  Middle  Border"  is  the  crystallization 
of  an  unconscious  ideal.  This  westward  movement  is  a 
vivid  rehearsal  of  a  belated  migration  that  tells  the  tale 
of  man's  first  yielding  to  the  mobile  impulse  in  his  na- 
ture, an  impulse  that  has  made  of  him  the  conqueror  of 
the  globe.  These  thousands  of  Johnny  Appleseeds  were 
not  utilitarian  seekers  after  wealth  alone;  in  them  was 
the  unconscious  mother  principle  yielding  to  the  forces 
that  were  fathering  a  new  race. 

And  that  new  race  has  come.  Centuries  of  arduous 
trial  and  tribulation  have  molded  it.  Go  where  you  will, 
except  for  some  slight  differences  in  tonal  expression, 
there  is  one  people.  Beneath  their  Americanism  are  the 
crude  complexes  resulting  from  a  war  between  refinement 


814  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

and  the  unkind  forces  of  nature.  The  pioneers  had  all 
known  what  civilization  meant,  but  circumstances 
thwarted  their  inclinations.  They  brought  with  them  a 
respect  for  woman  which  no  other  people  had  known 
so  well.  Primitive  and  Oriental  people — and  many 
European  races  of  to-day — do  not  have  the  same  exalted 
notion  of  woman,  simply  because  they  have  developed 
along  with  women  whose  functions  of  life  were  deter- 
mined by  the  savage  circumstances.  But  Americans 
found  themselves  in  the  continent  with  few  women,  and 
those  in  danger  of  savage  ruthlessness.  Hence  they 
became  doubly  concerned  for  their  welfare,  even  to  the 
point  of  sentimentalism. 

So,  too,  with  regard  to  personal  liberty.  The  pioneer 
knew  what  his  freedom  meant  to  him,  and  fought  for  it 
as  a  lion  or  a  tiger  fights  for  his.  Too  frequently  his 
own  freedom  could  be  bought  only  at  the  expense  of 
others  around  him.  The  word  itself  became  a  magic 
with  esoteric  properties.  Hence  we  find  throughout  our 
West  a  fanatical  regard  for  the  term  " freedom"  that 
sometimes  works  itself  into  a  frenzy  of  intolerance.  So 
fine  are  the  achievements  of  our  coast  states,  on  so  high 
a  level  is  the  standard  of  life,  that  men  cannot  see  the 
exceptions.  When  such  are  pointed  out  to  them  there 
arises  in  their  unconscious  a  fear  of  those  horrible  days, 
a  something  which  terrified  their  childhood  and  which 
must  be  downed  as  the  ghost  of  a  crime  one  imagines  him- 
self to  have  committed.  Hence,  not  to  be  "with"  cer- 
tain people  in  the  West  in  the  shouting  adulation  of  their 
state  or  their  city  or  their  orchards  is  a  worse  sacrilege 
than  counteracting  one  prayer  by  another  ritual.  The 
winning  of  the  West  was  the  aim  of  all  the  pioneers.  For 
years  and  years  they  were  faced  with  the  most  obvious 
threats  to  its  consummation.  Mountains,  climate,  sav- 
ages, European  jealousies,  lack  of  population, — every- 
thing that  spelled  despair  stood  before  them.  But  an  un- 
comprehended  passion  drove  them  on.  Perhaps  it  was 


AMERICA  315 

the  recrudescence  of  intolerance  which  marked  the  early 
settlers  in  the  East.  Perhaps  it  was  the  lack  of  oppor- 
tunity resulting  from  overcrowding  after  the  advertise- 
ment of  the  desirability  of  life  in  America.  It  may  have 
been  any  one  of  a  dozen  possibilities  that  kept  men  and 
women  moving  on  and  on  and  on, — nor  always,  by  any 
means,  the  yielding  to  ideals.  But  on  it  was  and  on  it 
continued  till  the  Pacific  was  reached. 

This,  superficially,  is  the  accepted  story  of  the  devel- 
opment of  our  West.  I  have  attempted  neither  criticism 
nor  laudation.  It  is  an  unavoidable  approach  to  the 
discussion  of  America's  place  in  the  Pacific,  an  approach 
which  even  the  most  Western  of  our  Westerners  is  not 
always  prone  to  take  cognizance  of.  But  within  it  lies 
the  kernel  of  future  American  life.  To  some,  like  the 
founders  of  the  State  of  Oregon,  it  was  more  defined. 
Some  as  early  as  1844  realized  that  to  the  nation  which 
developed  the  coast  lands  belonged  the  spoils  of  the 
Pacific  and  in  its  hands  would  lie  the  destinies  of  the 
largest  ocean  on  the  globe.  The  opening  of  the  Panama 
Canal  has  placed  the  Pacific  at  the  door-step  of  New 
York,  and  fulfilled  the  dream. 

But  to  the  vast  majority  of  people  on  the  coast  to-day, 
occupation  and  development  of  those  enormous  areas 
seem  to  carry  with  them  opportunity,  but  little  respon- 
sibility. They  have  one  concern  which  is  akin  to  fear, 
and  that  is  of  the  Japanese.  They  only  vaguely  grasp 
the  significance  of  their  fate.  They  do  not  see  that  they 
have  hauled  in  a  whale  along  with  their  catch  and  that 
unless  they  are  skilful  they  will  drag  the  whole  nation 
into  the  sea  with  them. 

But  if  they  have  forgotten  the  vision  for  the  appear- 
ance of  the  catch,  what  about  the  East?  The  East  is  as 
indifferent  to  matters  pertaining  to  the  Pacific  and  the 
West.  Its  face  is  turned  toward  Europe.  We  think  that 
America  is  a  nation,  but  the  utter  ignorance  of  one  sec- 
tion with  regard  to  another,  the  lounging  in  local  ease, 


316  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

is  appalling.  Easterners  are  like  the  philosopher  who 
when  told  that  his  house  was  on  fire,  said  it  was  none  of 
his  business,  for  hadn't  he  a  wife  to  look  after  such 
things!  These  are  strange  phenomena  in  a  democracy. 
People  think  that  they  discharge  their  duty  by  voting,  but 
how  many  people  are  in  the  least  concerned  with  the 
problems  that  will  some  day  light  up  the  country  like  a 
prairie  fire?  Westerners  are  generally  much  more  ac- 
quainted with  Eastern  affairs.  As  unpleasant  as  is  the 
promotion  publicity  of  Los  Angeles,  it  is  a  much  more 
healthful  condition  than  the  seeming  ignorance  of  New 
York  in  matters  pertaining  to  Los  Angeles. 

Yet  while  the  East  is  aflame  over  affairs  in  Europe — 
the  Irish  Republic,  for  instance — it  probably  thinks  that 
Korea  is  the  name  of  a  Chinese  joss  over  which  no  civ- 
ilized man  should  bother  to  yap  about.  This  indifference 
is  not  to  be  found  in  the  man  on  the  street  alone.  That 
man  is  often  uninformed  simply  because  the  dispensers 
of  information  are  uninformed.  There  is  much  he  would 
want  if  he  knew  its  value  to  him.  And  so  while  we  are 
becoming  embroiled  in  European  affairs  another  and 
henceforward  more  sinister  problem  is  threatening  to 
back- wash  over  us. 

It  was  while  in  such  an  apathetic  state  that  America 
changed  her  status  from  a  continental  republic  to  a 
colonial  empire.  Few  Americans  have  ever  taken  any 
interest  in  their  insular  possessions.  Hawaii  and  the  rest 
had  fallen  to  the  lot  of  the  Government,  and  would  sooner 
or  later  be  returned;  that  was  the  sum  and  substance 
of  their  outlook  on  the  whole  affair.  That  the  Monroe 
Doctrine  ceased  to  be  a  real  factor  with  the  acquisition  of 
these  outlying  possessions,  that  we  virtually  abrogated 
it,  did  not  seem  to  matter  much.  At  large,  the  notion 
was  that  American  altruism  would  never  involve  the 
country  in  any  difficulty. 

But  whatever  a  man's  motives,  once  he  has  stuck  his 
tongue  against  a  frozen  pipe  only  a  tremendous  outpour- 


AMERICA  317 

ing  of  altruism  will  ever  detach  it.  America  began  her 
adventures  in  the  Pacific  when  she  urged  young  men  to 
go  West.  Now  we  have  the  whole  continent,  we  have 
Hawaii,  the  Philippines,  Pago  Pago,  Samoa,  and 
Alaska, — a  hefty  armful.  Are  we  going  to  let  these 
things  go,  or  are  we  simply  going  to  drift  to  where  they 
drag  us  into  conflict  with  others  who  want  them  and  want 
them  badly?  We  cannot  merely  blow  them  full  of 
democracy  and  then  wait  for  any  one  who  wishes  to  to 
prick  the  bubbles.  For  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  issues  are  clear.  The  Pacific  cannot  remain  half- 
citizen  and  half -subject.  Every  time  we  stir  up  within 
a  small  island  the  self-respect  of  individuals,  we  destroy 
the  balance  of  power  between  an  expression  of  the  wills 
of  people  and  the  wills  of  autocracies.  Is  America  going 
to  set  out  to  make  the  world  safe  for  democracy  in 
Europe  and  then  withdraw  just  when  Europe  needs  her 
help  most?  Is  she  going  to  continue  to  make  treaties 
with  small  nations  like  Korea  and  then  when  Korea  is 
devoured  body  and  soul  simply  overlook  the  little  fellow 
as  though  he  had  never  existed. 

Let  me  make  the  case  of  Korea  clearer  by  a  parallel. 
We  had  a  treaty  with  the  Kingdom  under  which  we  had 
assured  her  that  in  the  event  of  any  other  power  inter- 
fering with  her  independence  we  would  exert  our  good  of- 
fices toward  an  amicable  solution.  Then  came  the  Russo- 
Japanese  war.  Korea  received  a  pledge  from  Japan  that 
her  sovereignty  would  be  protected  if  she  permitted  Jap- 
anese troops  to  pass  over  her  territory.  Korea,  at  the 
risk  of  being  devoured  by  Russia  for  violating  neutrality, 
acceded  to  Japan's  request.  Five  years  after  the  Russo- 
Japanese  War,  Korea  was  annexed  by  Japan,  and  we 
said  never  a  word  in  her  favor.  Nor  have  we  ever  de- 
nounced our  treaty  with  Korea, 

But  here  is  the  parallel.  Belgium  refused  to  let  Ger- 
many cross  her  territory.  Because  of  Germany's  inva- 
sion of  Belgium,  Great  Britain  entered  the  war.  What 


318  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

if  Great  Britain  now  decided  to  annex  Belgium?  What 
if  America  did  so? 

Yet  Colonel  Eoosevelt,  who  was  so  vociferous  in  his 
denouncement  of  the  Wilson  Administration  for  its  early 
neutrality  in  the  face  of  the  rape  of  Belgium,  himself 
condoned  the  annexation  of  Korea  by  saying  that  inas- 
much as  Korea  was  unable  to  defend  herself  it  was  not 
up  to  us  to  rush  to  her  assistance.  In  other  words,  our 
treaty  was  only  a  scrap  of  paper  which  was  to  be  in  force 
if  the  other  high  contracting  party  was  strong  enough  to 
have  no  need  for  our  aid. 

Is  America  going  to  drag  China  into  world  wars 
with  promises  of  friendship,  and  then  concede  Shantungs 
whenever  diplomatic  shrewdness  shows  her  to  be  beaten? 
Is  she  going  to  promise  the  Philippines  independence,  al- 
low her  governor-generals  to  withhold  their  veto  power 
for  years  so  that  the  natives  may  the  better  handle  their 
own  affairs,  and  then  simply  let  any  who  will  come  and 
undermine  or  explode  the  thing  entire  ? 

This  is  not  meant  to  imply  by  any  manner  of  means 
that  America  is  to  display  force  and  employ  it  for  the 
sake  of  democracy.  It  is  not  navies  nor  armies  that  will 
count,  but  principles.  It  is  America's  duty  as  a  free 
country  to  encourage  freedom  and  discourage  autocracy. 
And  in  that  spirit,  and  that  alone,  can  she  justify  her 
place  in  the  sun.  On  several  occasions  she  has  done  so, 
though  only  those  in  which  the  Pacific  are  involved  need 
reference  here. 


Apropos  of  the  Philippines :  Two  factors  and  two  alone 
are  involved.  It  is  not  a  question  of  whether  America 
shall  or  shall  not  hold  on  to  the  islands.  In  that  America 
has  given  her  word.  The  Philippines  will  become,  must 
become,  free.  There,  as  elsewhere,  it  is  not  our  concern 
whether  one  group  or  another  gains  the  upper  hand.  It 
is  not  our  concern  that  the  Filipinos,  being  Malay- 


AMERICA  319 

Orientals,  will  evolve  a  democracy  that  is  not  compatible 
with  our  notions  of  democracy.  Our  concern  is,  and  has 
been  repeatedly  stated  to  be,  only  the  welfare  and  happi- 
ness of  the  Filipinos.  McKinley,  Taft,  Roosevelt, 
Wilson, — all  have  considerably  discoursed  upon  Filipino 
independence  and  Filipino  welfare.  We  have  recently 
been  on  the  very  verge  of  granting  independence,  but,  un- 
fortunately, oil  has  been  discovered  by  the  Standard  Oil 
Company,  and  the  question  will  doubtless  now  depend  on 
the  amount  of  oil  there  is.  If  a  great  deal,  then  fare  thee 
well  Filipino  independence!  However,  the  real  reason 
for  our  being  in  the  islands  is  neither  the  altruistic  con- 
cern for  the  democratization  of  the  people,  nor  to  pro- 
tect the  immediate  interests  of  sugar,  tobacco,  or  oil- 
handling  capitalists.  The  one  and  only  basis  for  our 
action  should  be  the  extent  to  which  Filipino  independ- 
ence or  our  protectorate  ministers  to  the  peace  of  the 
Pacific.  If  an  independent  Philippines  will  allay  the  sus- 
picions of  Japan,  then  they  should  be  independent.  But 
Japan  would  have  to  give  more  than  the  usual  promise 
of  her  word  that  she  would  keep  her  hands  off  the  Philip- 
pines. The  extent  to  which  her  word  may  be  relied  upon 
can  easily  be  determined.  One  need  only  mention  Korea, 
Shantung,  Siberia,  the  Marshall  Islands.  We  say  to 
Japan:  "As  soon  as  you  live  up  to  the  promises  in  your 
treaty  and  other  relations  with  these  Orientals,  we  shall 
be  able  to  accept  your  further  promises  in  regard  to  the 
Philippines. ' ' 

Yet  it  must  not  be  overlooked  that  Japan  saw  our  com- 
ing to  the  Philippines  with  apprehension.  Japan  is  an 
Oriental  nation  and  cannot  understand  any  one  doing 
anything  out  of  pure  goodness  of  heart.  Fact  is,  neither 
can  we.  Let  the  most  honest  man  in  the  world  offer 
any  other  a  solid-gold  watch  and  that  other  would  sus- 
pect something  was  wrong.  We  declared  to  the  world 
that  we  had  only  the  best  intentions  toward  the  Philip- 
pines— to  democratize  them.  To  Japan  that  was  like 


320  THE  PACIFIC  TEIANGLE 

holding  up  a  red  flag  to  a  bull.  What,  you  are  going  to 
create  a  democratic  sore  right  in  my  neighborhood  ?  That 
will  never  do.  It  might  be  catching.  And  Japan  is  not 
interested  in  contracting  democracy  as  yet, — that  is,  offi- 
cial Japan.  Even  liberal  Japanese  are  doubtful.  When 
in  Japan,  I  interviewed  the  democratic  M.P.,  Yukio 
Ozaki.  He  turned,  without  question  from  me,  to  the  sub- 
ject of  the  fortification  of  the  Philippines.  He  pleaded 
that  the  forts  be  dismantled.  In  the  event  of  that  plea 
failing,  what  could  Japan  do,  he  asked,  other  than  pro- 
ceed to  fortify  the  Marshall  Islands'?  Yet  at  that  time 
Japan  had  not  even  been  granted  a  mandate  over  these 
islands.  The  logic  of  his  appeal  is  irrefutable.  But  this 
is  a  sort  of  vicious  circle.  Who  is  to  begin,  and  whom 
shall  we  trust  ? 

One  thing  is  certain, — that  in  that  whole  problem  of 
the  control  of  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  whether  by 
annexation,  protection,  or  mandate,  lies  the  seed  of  the 
future  peace  of  the  Pacific.  And  unless  in  each  and  every 
case  the  natives  are  given  the  best  opportunities  of  self- 
development,  that  nation  responsible  for  their  arrested 
condition  is  going  to  be  the  nation  upon  whose  conscience 
will  rest  the  sorrows  of  the  world. 

In  regard  to  the  Philippines,  this  must  be  remem- 
bered,— that  we  are  dealing  with  human  beings,  not  prob- 
lems and  principles.  The  stuff  one  generally  reads 
about  foreign  places  might  be  just  as  descriptive  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Mars.  Little  wonder  that  those  for  or 
against  independence  or  protection  fail  to  win  their  case ! 
We  must  remember  that  for  twenty  years  we  have  been 
building  up  the  hopes  of  children  whom  we  taught  in 
our  schools,  with  our  money  and  our  ideals.  They  are 
now,  many  of  them,  active  men  attending  to  the  work  of 
the  Filipino  world.  They  are  our  foster-children  and 
would  be  fools  not  to  want  to  live  their  own  lives  in  their 
own  way.  Our  policy  in  regard  to  them  must  be  a  nega- 
tive one ;  from  now  on  it  cannot  be  positive.  All  we  can 


AMERICA  321 

say  to  them  is  what  we  cannot  and  will  not  permit  them 
to  do ;  we  have  no  right  henceforth  to  say  what  they  must 
do.  We  can  say  that  we  will  not  permit  them  to  invite 
any  other  nation  whose  governmental  ideals  are  likely 
to  threaten  ours.  The  world  must  continue  on  its  road 
toward  the  greater  and  greater  liberation  of  peoples, 
hence  we  cannot  permit  them  to  step  back  toward  any 
form  of  imperialism.  We  cannot  permit  them  to  invite 
unlimited  numbers  of  Orientals  who  might  swamp  them. 
They  must  maintain  the  Philippines  for  the  Filipinos, 
with  as  much  generosity  thrown  in  as  will  not  endanger 
that.  We  must  remember  that  our  effort  in  the  Philip- 
pines is  the  first  in  which  any  government  has  attempted 
to  treat  its  subject  natives  with  any  degree  of  equality, — • 
legally,  if  not  socially.  If  the  world  is  to  move  on  toward 
greater  freedom — which  is  needed,  Heaven  knows! — we 
must  not  let  the  Philippines  be  an  example  of  the  failure 
of  democratic  management  of  natives. 


In  all  this  some  may  discover  implications  that  our 
hold  on  the  Philippines  should  be  maintained  purely  for 
strategic  reasons.  That  may  be  the  purpose  of  the 
imperialistically  minded.  There  may  be  some  who  will 
read  into  this  fear  of  Japan  or  a  bellicose  attitude  irri- 
table to  her.  Neither  interpretation  would  be  accurate, 
for  behind  all  this  are  certain  historical  factors  which 
prove  that  whatever  use  statesmen  may  make  of  world 
situations,  evil  designs  will  be  frustrated  so  long  as  the 
circumstances  which  created  the  primary  conditions  were 
not  evil.  Specifically,  because  the  earlier  relations 
between  Japan  and  America  were  brought  about  through 
essentially  good  motives,  these  later  developments  can 
be  kept  to  a  sane  path.  And  severe  as  may  be  our  pres- 
ent criticisms  of  Japan,  so  long  as  the  purposes  behind 
them  are  good,  they  can  have  only  a  desirable  result. 


322  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

When  Commodore  Perry  went  to  Japan  in  1853,  his 
only  desire  was  to  open  that  country  to  trade.  It  may 
seem  now  that  for  the  sake  of  peace  in  the  Pacific  it 
would  have  been  better  had  he  been  guided  by  the  spirit 
of  conquest.  Had  Japan  been  conquered  in  the  early 
days,  she  would  never  have  come  to  the  fore  as  a  possible 
menace.  But  she  was  not.  It  does  not  follow,  however, 
that  that  was  unfortunate,  for  the  earliest  relations 
between  Japan  and  America  were  amicable  and  basicly 
altruistic.  The  relations  between  us  have  continued  to 
be  amicable,  but  altruism  has  slowly  given  way  to  envy 
and  jealousy.  But  the  point  that  is  missed  in  all  this 
reference  to  these  cordial  relations  of  the  past  is  that 
inasmuch  as  America  was  a  great  moral  influence  upon 
Japan  in  the  early  days,  she  might  continue  to  be  that 
to-day.  Cock-sure  as  Japanese  statesmen  have  become, 
and  pugnacious  as  some  Americans  seem  toward  Japan, 
a  strong  moral  attitude  will  still  do  more  to  check  hos- 
tility than  all  the  shaking  of  sabers  and  maneuvering  of 
dreadnaughts.  We  need  the  Philippines  more  as  a  base 
for  democratic  experiment  than  as  a  fortified  zone.  We 
need  them  as  one  needs  a  medical  laboratory  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  serums  in  the  time  of  plague, — for  the  manu- 
facture of  the  serum  of  political  freedom,  of  the  rights 
of  people  to  develop  and  to  learn  to  be  free.  And  this 
experimental  station  should  stand  right  there  at  the  door 
of  Japan — and  of  British  and  French  concessionists,  if 
you  please,  in  China — and  of  China  itself,  for  none  of 
them  has  any  faith  in  this  educating  of  natives  and  mak- 
ing them  your  equals.  Only  down  below  the  line,  in 
New  Zealand  and  Australia,  far  from  where  it  can  really 
affect  Japan,  is  that  experiment  being  carried  on.  And 
more  than  all  else,  when  Japanese  imperialism  is  spread- 
ing its  wings,  when  Japanese  bureaucracy  is  throwing 
out  its  chest  in  pride  and  telling  its  poor,  impoverished 
people,  "See  what  I  am  doing  for  YOU,"  we  need  that 
serum  station  in  the  Philippines  where  a  solution  of  de- 


AMEEICA  323 

mocracy  and  freedom  may  continue  to  be  made, — be  it 
ever  so  weak. 

And  it  needs  to  be  injected  into  Japan.  Some  of  it  is 
already  working  in  that  empire.  Japan  needs  more,  it 
needs  to  be  reinforced.  Democracy  in  Japan  is  strug- 
gling for  a  foothold.  Let  the  germs  of  democracy  persist 
in  the  Philippines  and  be  rushed  to  the  island  empire. 
And  let  America  stand  as  a  great  moral  force,  impress- 
ing upon  Japan  that  the  rights  of  the  people  shall  not 
be  suppressed.  But  that  will  never  be  unless  the  people 
in  America  who  stand  for  liberalism,  for  true  democracy, 
for  all  that  America  has  hitherto  meant  wake  up  to  the 
seriousness  of  the  situation  in  the  Far  East  and  cease  to 
turn  from  it  with  sentimental  notions  about  Lafcadio 
Hearn's  Japan.  There  are  two  Japans. 

Both  of  these  Japans  are  watching  America  closely. 
They  are  watching  the  actions  of  America  in  the  Philip- 
pines, they  are  following  in  the  footsteps  of  America  in 
China.  That  need  not  be  taken  too  literally,  for  there 
are  two  meanings  to  it.  One  example  points  in  one  direc- 
tion, another  in  another.  But  one  or  two  by  way  of 
illustration  will  do. 

When  America  returned  the  Boxer  Indemnity  Funds 
to  China  for  educational  purposes  a  new  precedent  was 
established  in  international  affairs.  No  other  nation  had 
the  moral  courage  to  follow  suit.  But  just  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  Japan,  having  replenished  her  exchequer  con- 
siderably, unloosened  her  purse-strings  and  returned  the 
balance  of  the  indemnity  funds  to  China.  It  was  a  case 
of  thrifty  self-denial,  a  tardy  giving  back  of  gold  that 
none  of  the  powers  were  really  entitled  to.  As  misguided 
and  foolish  as  the  Boxer  Uprising  was,  still  had  it  been 
a  little  better  organized,  none  of  the  evils  from  which 
China  is  suffering  to-day  would  obtain.  China  should 
have  been  as  wise  in  her  method  as  she  was  in  impulse. 
However,  it  is  good  to  see  Japan  doing  so  much.  She 
should  be  encouraged. 


324  THE  PACIFIC  TEIANGLE 

Again,  seeing  that  American  missionaries — and  others 
— are  influencing  China  in  the  direction  of  Occidental  cul- 
ture, Japan  is  following  suit.  Here  it  is  likewise  a  tardy 
giving  back  to  China  what  Japan  took  from  her  centuries 
ago,  for  Japanese  Buddhism  is  only  the  sifting  of  the 
Buddhism  that  made  its  way  from  India  by  way  of  China 
and  Korea.  Still,  it  is  worth  noting  that  intellectual  and 
moral  precedents  are  often  as  forceful  as  more  material- 
istic weapons. 

Observing  the  influence  that  doctors  and  hospitals 
wield  in  China, — the  Eockefeller  Foundation,  for 
instance, — the  Japanese  are  following  suit  and  establish- 
ing hospitals  in  the  interior.  Educational  and  industrial 
work  likewise  will  lead  the  way  for  educational  and  indus- 
trial work  by  Japanese  in  China.  Witnessing  the  force 
of  friendship  in  America's  relations  with  China,  the 
public  in  Japan  is  protesting  against  the  antagonizing  of 
this  gigantic  neighbor  to  whom  the  Japanese  bureau- 
cratic wolf  has  been  making  such  grandmotherly  pre- 
tentions.  And  indeed  there  is  much  good  reason  for  the 
protest,  for  the  Japanese  merchant  who  expected  so 
much  juice  in  that  Chinese  plum  found  that  because  of 
antagonism,  because  of  the  rape  of  Shantung,  the  plum 
momentarily  became  a  lemon,  to  use  a  vulgar  expression. 
Japan,  after  the  "peace"  Conference  contemptuously 
handed  over  what  didn't  belong  to  it  but  a  duped  as- 
sistant in  the  prosecution  of  the  war  against  Germany 
learned  that  there  are  more  ways  than  one  of  killing  a 
cat.  And  China  proceeded  to  gnaw  at  the  vitals  of  the 
Japanese  bureaucratic  wolf  in  a  most  telling  fashion. 
China  declared  a  boycott  of  Japanese  goods  that  was  so 
effective  that  it  brought  about  a  financial  slump  in  Japan 
from  which  she  is  not  yet  fully  recovered.  China  was 
of  course  forced  to  yield.  One  cannot  live  on  sentiment, 
and  when  Japanese  goods  are  the  nearest  and  cheapest 
at  hand,  what  could  China  do  ? 

If  only  Japan  could  see  the  real  significance  of  this 


AMERICA  325 

she  would  at  once  withdraw  all  her  nefarious  demands 
on  China,  proceed  sincerely  and  honestly  to  win  the 
friendship  of  China,  and  then  undermine  the  very  ground 
of  every  foreign  trader  because  of  her  propinquity.  But 
bureaucrats  are  blind.  They  are  moles  that  move  under- 
ground. The  ground  of  China  is  all  broken  up  on  that 
account.  One  of  these  days  the  Chinese  giant  will  clum- 
sily step,  not  in  the  wake  of  the  mole,  but  on  the  mole 
itself.  Inadvertently,  of  course ;  giants  are  such  clumsy 
things ! 


These,  then,  are  some  of  the  ways  in  which  Japan  has 
and  has  not  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  America. 

Let  us  follow  the  Chinese  giant  a  bit,  and  see  what  blun- 
dering paths  he  has  pursued.  Unfortunately,  he  has  had 
his  mind  too  much  on  the  American  colossus  to  observe 
the  mole.  And  so  he  blundered  into  accepting  a  repub- 
lican form  of  government.  A  vain  Malvolio,  he  thought 
he  was  being  honored  with  blue  and  yellow  ribbons  on 
his  enormous  legs,  but  to  stretch  the  metaphor  a  little 
farther,  it  turns  out  that  these  alien  Lilliputians  are 
strapping  him  securely  down  to  earth.  The  ribbons  and 
the  Lilliputian  bands  are  the  foreign-built  and  foreign- 
controlled  and  operated  railroads  which  have  been  talked 
of  with  sanctimonious  metaphors  to  make  them  palatable. 
And  now  China  parades  herself  before  the  world  as  a 
republic.  That  is  some  of  the  influence  of  America.  The 
Republic  of  China  is  our  own  handiwork.  Is  it  anything 
to  be  proud  of?  Poor  China  is  a  battered  republic,  with 
hands  outstretched,  appealing  to  us  for  help.  As  I  write 
the  newspapers  tell  of  the  appeal  of  Dr.  Sun  Yat-sen, 
recently  elected  President  of  the  South  China  Republic. 
After  surveying  what  he  regards  as  the  situation,  expos- 
ing the  Peking  government,  declaring  that  but  for  its 
intriguing  with  Japan  there  would  have  been  unity 
between  North  and  South,  and  that  the  Northern  mili- 


326  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

tarists  were  profiteering  in  food  during  the  recent 
famine,  and  charging  them  with  a  string  of  other  crimes, 
he  adds: 

Such  is  the  state  of  affairs  in  China  that  unless  America,  her  tradi- 
tional friend  and  supporter,  comes  forward  to  lend  a  helping  hand  in 
this  critical  period,  we  would  be  compelled  against  our  will  to  submit 
to  the  twenty-one  demands  of  Japan.  I  make  this  special  appeal, 
therefore,  through  Your  Excellency,  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  to  save  China  once  more,  for  it  is  through  America's  genuine 
friendship,  as  exemplified  by  the  John  Hay  doctrine,  that  China  owes 
her  existence  as  a  nation. 

Now  let  us  listen  to  the  word  from  Japan  on  Ameri- 
can diplomacy  in  China.  The  "Asahi  Shimbun"  said: 

Of  all  the  foreign  representatives  in  Peking  the  American  was  the 
least  known  previous  to  the  revolution.  A  lawyer  by  profession,  he 
was  not  credited  with  any  diplomatic  ability  or  resource.  Yet  he  will 
reap  more  credit  than  any  of  the  others  on  account  of  the  ability  and 
energy  which  he  has  displayed.  But  what  have  our  Government  and 
our  diplomacy  done  to  counteract  the  American  influence  ?  Our  inter- 
ests in  China  far  exceed  those  of  any  other  country,  and  yet  our  officials 
have  allowed  themselves  to  be  outplayed  by  a  diplomatically  untrained 
lawyer.  China,  which  ought  to  look  to  Japan  for  help  and  guidance, 
does  not  do  so,  but  looks  to  America.  The  inertia  of  the  Kasumigaseki 
has  given  Mr.  Calhoun  an  opportunity  to  restore  American  prestige  in 
the  neighbouring  country. 

Japan  has  done  nothing  to  gain  the  good-will  of  China, 
and  America  is  constantly  veering  her  ship  with  its  treas- 
ury of  Chinese  good-will  more  and  more  in  the  direction 
of  Japan.  We  had  in  Japan  a  man  of  unusual  gifts  and 
sagacity.  Mr.  Roland  S.  Morris,  American  Ambassador 
under  the  Wilson  administration,  though  avowedly  a 
friend  of  Japan,  certainly  had  a  most  unenviable  position 
to  maintain.  He  seemed  peculiarly  fitted  for  his  post, 
for  during  his  years  in  Japan,  notwithstanding  the  innu- 
merable missions  that  moved  like  settings  on  a  circular 
stage,  and  the  infinite  number  of  dinners  that  fall  to  the 
lot  of  distinguished  foreigners  in  Japan,  he  never  seems 
to  have  got  political  indigestion.  And  doubtless  he  is 
to-day  a  friend  of  China. 

With  an  eye  to  the  "special  interests "  of  Japan,  Dr. 
Paul  S.  Reinsch  was  permitted  to  throw  up  his  hands  in 


AMERICA  327 

despair.  We  were  not  doing  much  to  save  China  from 
being  Shantung-ed.  Because  Mr.  Crane  once  undiplo- 
matically expressed  himself  in  ways  unwelcome  to  Japan, 
he  was  recalled  before  he  got  beyond  Chicago.  Several 
years  later,  Mr.  Crane  succeeded  in  smuggling  himself 
through  to  China  as  American  Minister,  and  as  far  as 
may  be  seen,  he  did  noble  work  in  connection  with  the 
Famine  Belief  last  winter.  Now  we  have  dispatched  a 
Japanophile  to  China.  Dr.  Jacob  Gould  Shurman  was 
so  strongly  impressed  with  the  schools  of  Japan  that  he 
gave  up  Cornell  University  to  go  to  China  and  help 
Japanize  the  Celestial.  At  least,  that  is  the  mood  in 
which  he  left  America.  A  man  who  knows  him  well  and 
is  close  to  the  inner  circle  of  American  financial  affairs 
in  China  assured  me  the-  other  day  that  Shurman  would 
not  be  in  China  six  months  before  he  would  completely 
reverse  his  sentiments,  and  regard  Japan's  work  in 
China  as  it  is  regarded  by  every  one  there  who  is  not  a 
Japanese  official. 

Poor  deluded,  short-sighted  Japan!  She  could  have 
China  as  a  plaything  if  she  only  went  about  it  properly. 
Propinquity  could  put  special  interests  in  last  year's 
list  of  bad  debts  if  Japan  sincerely,  honestly,  firmly  made 
a  friend  of  China,  threw  the  doors  wide  open, — and  then 
laughed  a  hearty,  healthy  laugh  at  the  efforts  of  white 
men  to  outwit  her  in  Asia.  Propinquity  has  made  Japan 
Oriental,  it  has  given  Japan  a  script  that  opens  the  doors 
for  her  more  than  for  any  other  alien :  Oriental  methods, 
Oriental  concepts,  Oriental  customs  and  requirements 
give  Japan  a  better  chance  in  China  than  all  her  millions 
of  soldiers  and  dreadnaughts  ever  will.  Yet  the  little 
mole  loves  it  underground. 


Thus  we  are  blindly  following  the  Japanese  mole.  We 
are  catering  to  Japanese  "sensitiveness"  by  sending 


328  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

diplomats  with  a  list  in  the  direction  of  Japan  now. 
Presently,  I  presume,  we  shall  withdraw  our  diplomats 
from  China  as  we  did  from  Korea,  and  forget  about  it. 
But,  then,  of  course,  we  sha'n't.  Things  in  the  Far  East 
are  not  going  to  pan  out  so  easily,  not  in  the  matter  of 
China  and  Japan.  Ever  since  the  first  American  clip- 
per flirted  with  Chinese  trade,  American  interests  have 
been  involved  in  the  interests  of  China,  and  they  will 
continue  to  be  so  involved.  Without  ordinary,  decent, 
honest  trade  among  nations,  the  relationship  of  peoples 
ceases  to  have  its  reason  for  existence.  Just  imagine  a 
world  of  nothing  but  tourists !  But  decent  trade  is  not 
the  forcing  of  opium  on  a  country  against  its  will,  as 
Britain  forced  it  on  China  in  the  early  days  and  as 
Japan  forces  it  to-day.  Decent  trade  is  not  the  impover- 
ishing of  native  industries  by  the  introduction  of  cheap 
products  from  Japanese,  European,  and  American  fac- 
tories. Neither  is  decent  trade  altruism.  The  spirit  of 
really  decent  trade  may  be  found,  though  not  yet  fully 
denned,  in  the  motives  behind  the  consortium;  but,  then, 
that  scheme  has  not  yet  been  proved  workable.  Its  future 
remains  to  be  seen,  and  I  shall  later  describe  it  as  far  as  it 
has  gone. 

It  has  been  admitted,  even  by  the  most  prejudiced — 
and  by  Japanese — that  America's  practices  in  the  Far 
East,  and  China  in  particular,  have  been  essentially  well- 
principled.  The  Philippines  are  restively  seeking  inde- 
pendence, but  they  cannot  claim  that  America's 
protectorate  has  been  discreditable.  One  could  go  on  all 
the  way  through  to  the  return  of  the  Boxer  Indemnity, 
and  the  only  serious  charge  that  can  be  made  with  truth 
is  that  altruism  has  often  been  accompanied  by  indecision 
and  inefficiency. 

The  question  that  now  faces  the  world  is  whether  the 
effect  of  Western  democratic  governmental  methods, 
which  seem  to  have  made  a  sudden,  yet  vital,  impression 
on  the  minds  of  the  Chinese,  shall  become  effective  with 


AMERICA  329 

time,  or  shall  be  uprooted  by  another  Oriental  country 
for  whom  we  have  expressed  constantly  the  most  affec- 
tionate regard.  We  do  not  love  a  child  less  because  it 
needs  correction ;  correction,  we  realize,  is  the  necessary 
accompaniment  of  growth.  Japan  needs  to  be  shown 
the  error  of  her  ways ;  not  in  high-flown  moral  terms,  but 
in  just  plain,  everyday  examples  of  the  impracticability 
of  her  doings  in  China.  Thus,  having  been  instrumental 
in  the  opening  of  Japan  to  the  world;  having  acquired 
possessions  in  the  Pacific  which  must  remain  the  outposts 
of  democratic  management  of  native  peoples ;  having  set 
an  example  of  disinterested,  generous  treatment  of 
unwieldy  China;  having  stood  by  as  her  friend,  as  her 
preceptor,  her  sponsor;  having,  in  a  word,  made  that 
inexplicable  journey  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  farthest 
reaches  of  the  Pacific,  let  the  robin  say  of  Johnny  Apple- 
seed: 

To  the  farthest  West  he  has  followed  the  sun, 
Hia  life  and  his  empire  just  begun.  .  .  . 


CHAPTER  XXI 

WHERE  THE   PROBLEM  DOVETAILS 


I  HAVE  come  now  to  the  most  delicate  and  most  dif- 
ficult task  in  the  whole  problem,  that  of  the  dove- 
tailing of  nations.  Twice  has  this  phase  of  the  subject 
come  before  us:  once  when  we  met  it  in  that  welter  of 
racial  experiments,  Hawaii  and  the  South  Seas  in  gen- 
eral; and  again  in  that  great  outpost  of  the  white  race, 
Australasia.  But  in  the  one  it  is  too  localized,  and  the 
other  too  much  in  anticipation.  In  Hawaii  it  is  hard  to 
say  which  race  has  justly  a  prior  right  to  possession ;  in 
Australia  the  problem  is  only  imminent. 

But  in  California  and  the  entire  West  the  impact  of 
the  two  races  of  the  Pacific  has  taken  place.  Nothing 
but  a  just  solution  can  possibly  be  any  solution  at  all. 
Let  me  therefore  define  the  problem  at  the  very  outset, 
lest  that  which  is  really  irrelevant  be  expected,  or  insinu- 
ate itself  into  the  discussion. 

Primarily,  the  problem  of  Japan  in  America  is  not 
a  racial  one.  Primarily  it  is  political,  and  hinges  upon 
the  rights  of  nations.  Secondarily,  it  is  economic,  and 
only  in  so  far  as  the  political  and  economic  factors  are 
unsolvable  can  the  problem  become  a  racial  one,  and  ter- 
minate in  conflict.  All  attempts  at  handling  the  situation 
which  do  not  take  into  consideration  these  two  factors 
would  be  like  crossing  the  stream  to  get  a  bucket  of  water. 
For  nothing  can  be  done  without  reciprocity,  and  reci- 
procity is  the  last  thing  that  Japan  would  ever  consent  to, 
as  it  involves  a  transformation  in  her  political  philosophy 
and  the  relinquishment  of  her  own  position  from  the  very 

330 


WHERE  THE  PROBLEM  DOVETAILS      331 

outset.  Hence,  before  we  can  even  approach  the  con- 
sideration of  facts  in  California,  we  must  get  clearly 
in  mind  exactly  what  Japan  is  doing  within  her  own 
territories.  Japan  is  the  appellant.  Japan  demands 
that  her  people  be  given  free  entry  the  world  over.  We 
are  not  asking  her  to  let  our  people  enter  Japan  and 
her  possessions  as  laborers  and  agriculturists.  Hence, 
before  she  can  make  her  plea  at  all  rational,  she  must 
show  that  she  herself  is  not  discriminating  in  the  identi- 
cal manner  as  the  one  she  objects  to. 

Now,  in  only  one  or  two  instances  have  I  seen  that 
question  emphasized.  In  all  the  literature  I  have  read 
emanating  from  Japanese  sources,  in  the  lectures  of  its 
propagandists  here,  I  have  never  seen  it  faced  fairly 
and  squarely.  The  actions  of  Japan  are  ignored  or 
glossed  over.  The  protagonists  of  Japan  in  Califor- 
nia— Americans,  mind  you — make  of  it  purely  an  Ameri- 
can issue,  as  though  discrimination  were  a  fault  peculiar 
to  ourselves.  Two  blacks  don't  make  a  white,  but 
neither  do  two  blacks  quarrel  with  each  other  for  being 
black. 

The  questions  in  the  order  of  their  importance 
then  are: 

Does  Japan  permit  the  free  entrance  of  alien  labor? 

Does  Japan  permit  the  ready  purchase  by  aliens  of 
agricultural  land? 

Does  Japan  make  the  naturalization  of  aliens  easy? 

Does  Japan  permit  the  denaturalization  of  its  people 
abroad  ? 

Now,  these  are  all  political  problems,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  the  very  economic  conditions  of  Japan  make 
them  unnecessary.  That  is,  Japanese  labor  is  essen- 
tially cheap  labor,  and  owing  to  the  great  crowding  there 
would  be  little  likelihood  of  any  great  influx  of  Korean 
or  Chinese  labor  were  the  bars  not  raised  fairly  high. 
And  the  bars  are  high.  The  number  of  Koreans  admitted 
is  greater  largely  because  Koreans  are  now  subjects  of 


332  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

the  mikado,  but  even  they  are  kept  in  check  by  Japanese 
objections  to  their  entrance,  and  conflicts  between  Japa- 
nese and  Koreans  are  not  unknown.  Chinese  are  per- 
mitted to  enter  Japan  only  by  special  permission  from 
the  local  authorities,  as  provided  for  in  a  regulation  in 
force  since  1899.  Forgetting  the  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  during  which  the  doors  of  Japan  were  sealed; 
forgetting  that  even  after  the  opening  of  Japan  a  for- 
eigner had  to  obtain  a  special  passport  to  travel  from 
Kobe  to  Kyoto,  a  distance  of  forty  miles  inland;  for- 
getting all  the  psychological  factors  that  have  by  no 
means  broken  down  the  crust  that  still  closes  most  of 
Japan  to  alien  possession  or  acquisition,  one  is  still 
amazed  at  this  discrimination  against  fellow-subjects  and 
Chinese,  to  whom  the  Japanese  are  in  some  essential 
way,  at  least,  related. 

But  let  us  see  what  happens  to  these  people  when 
they  do  get  in.  Let  me  quote  a  statement  in  the  bulletin 
of  the  East  and  West  News  Bureau,  a  Japanese  propa- 
ganda agency  located  in  New  York. 

In  Japan  proper  the  Korean  laborers  are  estimated  to  number  about 
20,000.  Compared  with  Japanese  laborers  they  are  perhaps  superior 
in  point  of  physical  strength,  but  in  practical  efficiency  they  are  no 
rivals  of  the  latter.  They  feel  that  they  are  handicapped  by  strange 
environments  and  different  customs,  which  partly  account  for  their 
low  efficiency.  But  experienced  employers  assert  that  the  Koreans  are 
markedly  lazy,  and  that  their  work  requires  overseers,  which  naturally 
results  of  curtailment  of  their  wages. 

According  to  inquiries  by  the  Osaka  police  on  conditions  among 
Korean  laborers  in  the  city,  many  of  them  have  been  thrown  out  of 
employment  on  account  of  the  economic  depression;  that  they  are 
mostly  engaged  in  rough  work,  such  as  carrying  goods  around  or  dig- 
ging holes,  etc.,  as  unskilled  laborers.  It  states  that  they  are  indolent 
and  have  no  interest  in  work  which  requires  skill  and  attention;  they 
are  simply  contented  as  cheap  laborers. 

This  quotation  is  illuminating  in  many  ways.  First, 
it  strikes  me  as  being  anything  but  fair  play  on  the  part 
of  Japanese  in  America  to  send  out  such  discriminat- 
ing and  unkind  accounts  of  a  people  whom  they  have 
now  taken  in  as  fellows  in  an  empire,  and  whom  they 
are  "trying  to  assimilate,"  Secondly,  it  is  not  quite 


WHERE  THE  PEOBLEM  DOVETAILS      333 

true,  for  Japanese  manufacturers  are  going  to  Korea 
with  their  factories.  If  Korean  laborers  are  efficient 
in  Korea,  why  not  in  Japan  ?  But  the  fact  of  the  matter 
is  that  the  Japanese,  quite  naturally,  are  not  going  to 
give  the  best  jobs  to  Koreans  with  their  own  men  round 
about. 

Now  let  us  see  what  the  British  Vice-Consul  at  Osaka 
has  to  say  of  Japanese  labor,  in  a  report  to  Parliament. 
Admitting  that  external  conditions  have  much  to  do 
with  the  poor  quality  of  the  Japanese  workman,  and  that 
in  time  and  under  better  conditions  he  will  improve,  the 
vice-consul  says:  "The  standard  [of  intelligence]  shown 
by  the  average  workman  is  admittedly  low, ' '  while  some 
of  his  sub-captions  are :  * '  Docility, "  "  Apathy, "  "  Cheer- 
fulness," "Lack  of  Concentration,"  "Scarcity  of  Skilled 
Labor,"  and  under  the  caption  "Why  Wages  are  Low" 
he  says:  "Labor  is  plentiful  and  inefficient." 

It  is  seen,  therefore,  that  the  opinion  of  the  vice-consul 
in  the  matter  of  the  Japanese  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
Japanese  in  regard  to  the  Korean ;  and  so  it  goes.  The 
point  in  the  whole  question,  to  my  mind  is,  that  Japanese 
discriminate  as  much  against  other  races  as  they  are 
discriminated  against.  Not  until  Japan  lays  low  the 
chauvinistic  notions  about  the  superiority  of  the  most 
inferior  Japanese  to  the  best  foreigner  can  we  expect 
that  other  nations  will  set  to  work  to  remove  the  obstacles 
toward  a  clear  understanding. 

In  America  the  very  reverse  is  true.  No  one  ever 
asserts  that  the  Japanese  is  inferior  to  a  white  man. 
What  is  said  is  that  the  white  man  is  essentially  an 
individualist  who  at  maturity  starts  off  in  life  by  himself, 
whereas  the  Japanese  is  bound  by  all  sorts  of  notions 
of  ancestor-worship  which  submerge  him  completely  in 
the  group.  Furthermore,  as  a  group  the  Japanese  are 
able  to  overcome  the  greatest  odds  that  any  individual 
can  raise  against  them.  The  nature  of  that  group-con- 


334  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

sciousness  will  be  analyzed  in  the  answer  to  some  of  the 
other  questions. 

2 

But  to  return  to  Japan:  That  Japan  has  no  occasion 
for  fear  of  a  serious  invasion  of  aliens  is  evident  from 
recent  figures  that  show  that  there  are  only  19,500  for- 
eigners there,  of  whom  12,139  are  Chinese,  2,404  Britons, 
1,837  Americans,  687  Russians,  641  Germans,  and  445 
French.  These  figures  are,  however,  unreliable,  and 
antedate  the  Russian  Revolution.  However,  the  ques- 
tion here  pertinent  is  whether  any  of  these  would  be 
permitted  to  engage  in  such  industries  as  the  Japanese 
engage  in  here;  for  instance,  agriculture.  That  can  be 
answered  in  the  negative.  The  Japanese  land  law,  how- 
ever generous  it  may  seem  from  mere  reading  of  the 
statutes,  does  not  extend  that  privilege  to  foreigners. 
The  first  proviso  of  the  law  is  that  the  person  desiring 
to  own  land  in  Japan  shall  be  from  a  country  wherein 
Japanese  are  permitted  to  own  land.  In  other  words, 
if  America  does  not  allow  a  Japanese  to  acquire  land, 
no  American  can  do  so  in  Japan.  As  it  stands,  there- 
fore, no  Japanese  can  complain  if  American  laws  make 
a  similar  ruling.  The  second  provision  excludes  from 
any  and  all  ownership,  in  any  and  all  circumstances,  the 
Hokkaido,  Formosa,  Karafuto  (Sakhalin),  or  districts 
necessary  for  national  defense.  Considering  that  every 
other  inch  of  ground  is  held  in  plots  of  two  and  a  half 
acres  per  farmer,  to  whom  they  are  the  beginning  and 
end  of  subsistence,  the  privileges  innocently  extended 
are  mighty  short.  The  law  virtually  excludes  all  right 
to  any  agricultural  lands  that  any  foreigner  might  be  able 
to  avail  himself  of. 

There  is  one  kind  of  real  property  foreigners  do  wish 
to  own,  and  that  is  property  for  business  purposes.  But 
they  cannot  own  that,  even;  they  may  only  lease  it  on 
long  leases  under  conditions  that  are  frequently  a  hard- 


WHERE  THE  PROBLEM  DOVETAILS      335 

ship  and  often  enough  insecure.  They  may  lease  land 
under  the  so-called  superficies  lease,  but  that  means  vir- 
tually evading  the  law,  and  is  always  expensive.  Even 
ordinary  leases  are  frequently  encroached  upon,  as  for- 
eigners in  the  ports  are  only  too  well  aware.  While  I 
was  in  Kobe,  Japanese  were  forcing  foreign  business 
firms  out  of  the  former  foreign  settlement,  which  fully 
fifty  years  of  white  men's  toil  had  converted  from  a 
worthless  bit  of  beach  land  into  one  of  the  most  up-to- 
date  " suburbs"  in  the  Orient,  and  which  is  now  the  best 
part  of  Kobe.  This  was  done  by  calling  in  leases,  by 
making  the  rents  prohibitive,  and  by  " buying  out"  for- 
eign lease-holders  at  almost  exorbitant  rates,  just  as  the 
Japanese  buy  out  white  men  in  California.  One  British 
druggist,  Dr.  Richardson,  sold  for  $225,000  a  corner  plot 
for  which  he  had  paid  $12,500.  He  made  a  great  profit 
in  the  deal,  but  the  process  by  which  he,  and  others,  were 
bought  out  is  indicative  of  the  methods  of  the  Japanese. 
For  behind  many  of  the  real-estate  dealers  was  the  Gov- 
ernment, making  loans  at  most  favorable  rates  of  inter- 
est with  the  sole  object  of  getting  back  into  Japanese  con- 
trol as  much  of  the  port  plots  as  possible, — cost  what  it 
might.  Even  men  of  lifelong  residence  in  Japan  must 
form  themselves  into  corporations  with  their  wives  and 
some  Japanese  as  members,  in  order  to  own  the  land 
upon  which  their  residences  are  built.  Some  of  these 
cases  I  investigated  for  the  " Japan  Chronicle"  and 
learned  from  the  priest  of  the  Catholic  Church  that  pres- 
sure was  constantly  being  exerted  upon  him  to  make  him 
relinquish  his  hold  upon  the  ground  on  which  the  church 
stands,  because  it  is  in  the  heart  of  the  business  section. 
He  said  he  did  not  know  how  long  he  would  be  able  to 
hold  out  against  them. 

How  corrupt  landlords  may  overstep  the  bounds  is 
illustrated  by  a  case  reported  in  the  " Chronicle"  of 
February  10,  1921.  The  editor  says : 


336  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

The  notorious  Clarke  lease  suit  is  a  case  in  point.  This  was  a  lease 
for  twenty-five  years,  renewable  for  a  further  term  of  similar  duration. 
A  syndicate  of  Japanese  was  organized  which  purchased  the  land, 
knowing  of  the  burdens  upon  it,  with  the  hope  of  worrying  the  lease- 
holder either  into  paying  more  rent  or  into  selling  the  lease  for  an 
inadequate  sum.  Suit  after  suit  was  brought  in  various  names,  until 
at  last  a  court  was  found  to  give  judgment  raising  the  rent  on  the 
ground  that  taxes  had  increased  and  the  value  of  surrounding  prop- 
erties had  expanded  since  the  lease  was  made.  In  justification  of  a 
judgment  upholding  this  decision,  the  Osaka  Appeal  Court  declared 
that  there  was  a  local  custom  in  Kobe  which  permitted  a  landlord  to 
raise  the  rent  in  certain  circumstances.  No  evidence  was  produced 
in  support  of  this  contention,  which  was  clearly  against  all  contract 
law  and  rendered  lease  agreements  meaningless.  The  result  was  that 
the  gang  of  speculators  who  had  banded  themselves  together  to  despoil 
a  foreigner  were  successful.  The  holder  of  the  lease  was  forced  to 
sell  and  the  syndicate  profited  greatly. 

If  the  argument  is  raised  that  you  will  find  bad  people 
everywhere,  and  that  one  cannot  take  the  poorest  type 
of  person  and  set  him  up  as  the  example,  let  us  recall 
the  case  of  the  Doshisha  University.  There,  because  of 
these  selfsame  land  and  property  laws,  The  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  placed 
the  million  dollars'  worth  of  property  in  the  hands  of 
Christian  Japanese  directors.  Presently  the  Govern- 
ment brought  pressure  to  bear  upon  these  directors,  and 
they  yielded  to  their  Government.  In  February,  1898, 
they  virtually  ousted  the  foreign  owners,  turned  the  insti- 
tution into  a  secular  college,  and  saw  nothing  dishonest 
nor  immoral  in  the  action.  Japanese  have  of  course 
come  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  rights  in  such 
cases,  nor  am  I  trying  to  impugn  the  integrity  of  the 
"better-class"  of  Japanese.  I  am  merely  bringing  evi- 
dence to  prove  that  not  only  are  Japanese  laws  with 
regard  to  the  ownership  of  land  by  foreigners  as  dis- 
criminatory as  those  of  California,  but  their  interpreta- 
tion is  a  serious  handicap  to  aliens  in  Japan. 

In  America  the  fight  is  not  to  prevent  Japanese  from 
taking  hold  of  land  for  business  purposes,  but  to  prevent 
them  from  monopolizing  farming-lands,  which,  as  Mr. 
Walter  Pitkin  has  shown  so  clearly  in  his  book,  "Must 
We  Fight  Japan!"  are  rapidly  passing  out  of  American 


WHERE  THE  PROBLEM  DOVETAILS      337 

hands  because  of  our  vicious  shallowness  in  agrarian 
matters.  I  am  not  as  yet  bringing  up  the  question  of 
fairness,  justice,  generosity,  or  the  rights  of  over- 
crowded Japan.  I  am  merely  making  parallels  which 
seem  to  me  telling. 


Does  Japan  make  the  naturalization  of  aliens  easy? 
As  far  as  the  letter  of  the  law  goes,  there  appears  noth- 
ing in  the  eyes  of  a  layman  that  might  stand  in  the  way 
of  a  man,  already  married  and  with  children,  from 
becoming  a  Japanese  subject.  There  is  no  legal  dis- 
crimination against  any  race  or  color.  But  notwith- 
standing that  there  now  are  20,000  foreigners  in  Japan, 
and  that  the  number  throughout  the  years  must  have 
been  much  greater,  there  are  on  record  only  nine  cases 
of  foreigners  having  been  naturalized  between  1904  and 
1913;  two  English,  two  American,  five  French;  and  ten 
cases  of  adoptions  by  marriage  into  Japanese  families. 
These,  to  my  knowledge,  do  not  include  men  previously 
married.  They  are  all  cases  of  men  who  have  married 
Japanese  women,  or  of  women  who  have  married  Japan- 
ese men.  There  have  been  158  Chinese  who  became 
naturalized.  This  does  not  indicate  that  naturalization 
is  easy — except  by  marriage — and  the  general  consensus 
of  opinion  is  that  it  would  take  a  man  fully  fifteen  years 
to  become  naturalized  in  the  due  process  of  law. 

Furthermore,  the  restrictions  attached  to  the  acquisi- 
tion of  Japanese  nationality  take  all  the  sweetness  out 
of  the  plum,  for  even  after  you  have  gone  through  the 
regular  processes  and  have  been  permitted  to  sit 
1  'amongst  these  gods  on  sainted  seats,"  there  are  still 
exalted  pedestals  beyond  your  reach.  You  may  not 
become  a  Minister  of  State,  President,  or  Vice-President, 
or  a  member  of  the  Privy  Council ;  an  official  of  chokunin 
(imperial-appointment)  rank  in  the  Imperial  Household 
Department;  an  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister 


338  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

Plenipotentiary ;  a  general  officer  in  the  army  and  navy ; 
president  of  the  Supreme  Court,  of,  the  Board  of  Audit, 
or  of  the  Court  of  Administrative  Litigation ;  or  member 
of  the  Imperial  Diet.  Nor  are  the  professions  in  all 
cases  open  to  you. 

However,  this  is  a  minor  matter  compared  with  that 
of  the  inability  on  the  part  of  any  Japanese  to  accept 
another  nationality  without  official  consent.  If  he  resides 
abroad  after  his  seventeenth  birthday  he  cannot  in  any 
circumstances  become  a  citizen  of  that  other  country 
unless  he  has  completed  his  military  service.  Women 
may  freely  relinquish  their  nationality  through  mar- 
riage; not  so  men.  If  men  are  born  abroad,  they  must 
make  a  voluntary  request  for  denaturalization  between 
the  ages  of  fifteen  and  seventeen,  but  such  other  factors 
are  involved  that  only  a  negligible  number  of  American- 
born  Japanese  have  ever  attempted  to  rid  themselves  of 
their  ancestral  connections;  and  there  is  one  case  on 
record  in  which  the  Government  refused  on  a  technical- 
ity, for  the  child  had  applied  for  denationalization  ac- 
cording to  Western  reckoning,  whereas  Japanese  count 
the  child's  age  as  from  the  day  of  conception,  not  birth. 

In  view  of  this,  then,  there  seems  no  point  whatever 
in  the  fuss  made  about  Japanese  being  barred  from 
citizenship.  Again,  I  am  not  discussing  the  advisability 
of  this  restriction,  but  merely  trying  to  brush  aside  many 
of  the  webs  that  have  been  spun  for  the  netting  of  sym- 
pathy. The  relations  between  Japan  and  America  are 
thus  involved  in  an  infinite  number  of  petty  political 
regulations  on  each  side,  and  nothing  but  a  complete 
sweeping  away  of  all  restrictions  on  both  sides  would 
ever  assume  even  the  semblance  of  justice.  But  how 
far  is  Japan  ready  and  willing  to  go  in  this  denational- 
ization of  herself?  The  most  casual  study  of  her 
nationalistic  aims  and  aspirations  answers  that  ques- 
tion. 

That  the  problem  is  essentially  a  problem  for  Japan 


WHERE  THE  PROBLEM  DOVETAILS      339 

to  solve  is  self-evident.  That  it  is. political  and  not  racial, 
and  that  this  political  problem  is  rooted  in  Japan's 
economic  condition,  is  likewise  clear.  For  no  nation  loses 
its  nationals  except  when  the  conditions  at  home  are 
worse  than  those  abroad,  worse  than  those  of  the  country 
to  which  her  people  wish  to  emigrate.  Australia  and 
New  Zealand  find  it  almost  impossible  to  lure  out  British 
laborers,  while  Germany's  desire  for  room  was  largely 
for  the  utilization  of  her  mechanics  and  scientists  and 
others  whom  she  had  trained  in  such  large  numbers  that 
she  had  n  't  enough  work  for  them  at  home.  Two  changes 
in  the  structure  of  world  economics  have  accentuated  a 
condition  of  racial  conflict  which  have  hitherto  been  vir- 
tually non-existent.  Religious  and  political  conflicts 
have  always  obtained,  but  the  color  line  has  been  drawn 
only  in  very  recent  times.  As  long  as  black  and  yellow 
people  have  been  of  a  lower  order  and  have  been  willing 
to  serve  the  white,  there  was  never  any  serious  disorder 
between  them.  The  color  line  is  not  marked  even 
in  Europe  to-day,  for  the  same  reason  that  it  is  not 
marked  in  Japan.  Europe  is  herself  too  crowded  to  be 
a  desirable  immigration  station.  Whatever  the  causes 
of  conflict  may  have  been,  to-day  it  is  clear  that  they  lie 
in  the  endeavor  on  the  part  of  white  labor  to  maintain  a 
better  standard  of  living  than  Oriental  labor  has  yet 
attained.  And  in  exactly  the  degree  to  which  certain 
Oriental  labor  groups  have  risen  above  others,  the  con- 
flict becomes  manifest, — to  wit,  the  objection  on  the  part 
of  Japanese  labor  to  Korean  and  Chinese  coolies.  No 
serious  conflicts  take  place  between  Fijian  laborers  and 
Indian  coolies,  because  the  Fijian  maintains  his  standard 
under  competition,  that  being  lower  than  the  Indian's. 
We  have  therefore  to  study  the  problem  of  Japanese 
in  America,  the  so-called  race  conflict,  not  so  much  as 
it  develops  here  but  at  its  source,  Japan.  And  there,  if 
I  read  Japanese  conditions  aright,  the  problem  is  politi- 
cal and  psychological  in  the  main.  Japan  has  come  very 


340  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

far  along  material  modernization;  she  has  virtually 
stepped  up  to  the  front  rank  of  nations.  But  the  most 
casual  observation  reveals  that  that  is  only  so  in  part, 
that  the  advance  is  made  as  a  government,  not  as  a 
people.  That  government  is  rooted  in  antiquated 
notions,  is  vicious  in  many  of  its  aspects,  and  is  opposed 
to  even  the  most  conservative  developments  of  Western 
countries.  That  government  refuses  to  recognize  the 
social  forces  that  are  at  work  within  Japan  for  the 
leveling  upward  of  classes.  And  there  is  the  rub. 


Glancing  over  the  history  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
we  realize  that  all  nations  have  passed  through  a  con- 
tinuous struggle  of  the  masses  for  betterment  of  their 
conditions,  political  and  social  as  well  as  economic.  Dur- 
ing the  greater  part  of  that  century  Japan  lay  dormant, 
its  masses  mentally  mesmerized.  The  sudden  impact 
of  the  West  has  stunned  the  people  more  than  awakened 
them.  Only  part  of  the  social  body  is  coming  to  life, — a 
limb,  an  essential  organ.  To  be  generous,  I  might  say  the 
brain  is  working,  though  from  many  of  the  actions  of 
Nippon  that  would  seem  doubtful.  But  certain  it  is  that 
whether  it  is  the  brain  or  merely  the  spinal  column,  in- 
stead of  limbering  up  the  rest  of  the  body  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  it  is  trying  to  retard  it.  Hence,  the  feverish 
condition  of  the  country. 

This  is  not  mere  speculation.  As  I  have  said,  only 
such  countries  as  have  an  inferior  economic  condition 
suffer  from  the  exodus  of  their  laboring  people.  That 
exodus  takes  place  for  several  reasons.  From  Europe 
it  has  come  because  of  the  hunger  for  religious  freedom, 
to  escape  political  oppression,  or  merely  to  get  a  new 
start  in  life.  And  though  we  have  few  political  or  reli- 
gious exiles  in  America  from  the  Land  of  the  Rising  Sun, 
they  come  because  of  an  unconscious  desire  for  relief 


WHEEE  THE  PEOBLEM  DOVETAILS      341 

from  Japanese  social  domination.  I  am  convinced  that 
that  which  most  Japanese  so  prefer  in  America  is  that 
sense  of  individual  freshness,  that  desire  for  individual 
expression,  for  freedom  from  the  clutch  of  family  and 
oligarchy.  It  is  unconscious,  and  without  doubt  few 
Japanese  when  brought  face  to  face  with  the  issues 
would  admit  it,  so  deeply  ingrained  is  the  education  and 
training  at  the  hands  of  the  political  administrators. 
Only  here  and  there  is  some  such  statement  made,  with 
an  eye  to  the  press  and  the  galleries. 

Were  Japan  to  extend  to  the  masses  greater  freedom, 
there  would  be  plenty  of  work  for  them  at  home.  There 
is  scientific  advancement  to  be  made.  Japanese  are 
frightfully  behind  in  the  scientific  habit.  I  have  been 
told  by  a  friend  at  one  of  our  greatest  institutions  of 
medical  experimentation  that  with  but  one  exception  the 
Japanese  who  come  there  have  to  be  constantly  dismissed 
for  their  incompetence.  There  was  no  anti-Japanese 
sentiment  in  the  mind  of  the  person  who  made  this  state- 
ment. Japanese  still  need  generations  of  training  to 
acquire  the  scientific  spirit.  Their  historians  prove  this. 
In  the  business  of  life  Japanese  have  plenty  of  work  at 
home  which  could  easily  absorb  all  the  man-power,  both 
masculine  and  feminine,  at  their  command,  without  the 
necessity  of  shipping  any  of  it  abroad.  But  the  vulgar 
acquisition  of  wealth,  the  vulgar  acquisition  of  political 
prestige  in  the  world,  the  vulgar  appeal  for  equality  which 
no  man  or  nation  with  true  dignity  and  self-respect 
would  mouth  to  the  extent  that  Japanese  officialdom  has 
mouthed  it,  the  vulgar  wearing  of  its  sensitiveness  on 
its  sleeve, — it  is  these  with  which  bureaucratic  Japan  is 
preoccupied.  While,  at  home,  every  effort  on  the  part 
of  Japanese  to  secure  manhood  suffrage,  to  arise  to  the 
dignity  of  true  men,  of  which  the  masses  are  as  capable 
as  any  race  on  earth,  is  discouraged.  On  the  one  hand 
pleading,  in  mendicant  fashion,  for  racial  equality 
abroad ;  on  the  other,  refusal  to  give  the  people  at  home 


342  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

racial  equality.  On  one  hand  it  is  asserted  loudly  that 
"The  Japanese  do  not  like  to  be  regarded  as  inferior 
to  any  other  people.  In  no  country  will  they  be  content 
with  discriminatory  treatment "  ;  *  on  the  other,  Prime 
Minister  Hara  answers  the  demand  for  the  franchise 
with  the  maudlin  fear  that  it  would  break  down  "dis- 
tinction. ' ' 

So  that  the  problem  of  Japan  and  the  world  is  largely 
a  political  problem  which  she  must  face  at  home.  Rais- 
ing the  standard  of  living;  increasing  the  economic  wel- 
fare of  the  masses;  extending  the  rights  of  the  people 
who  are  clamoring  for  it  in  sections,  not  only  to  the 
intelligent  elements  but  down  to  the  very  eta;  cleansing 
the  social  pores  of  the  empire, — these  will  in  themselves 
automatically  solve  the  problem  for  the  world.  The 
people  don't  want  conquest.  They  are  not  aggressive. 
But  the  misguided  leaders, — there  's  the  rub. 


As  to  Japan  in  America — or,  more  specifically,  the 
Japanese  in  California — the  problem  is  for  us  to  solve. 
I  once  heard  an  American  sentimentalist  who  practises 
law,  and  hence  assured  an  audience  he  ought  to  know 
what  he  was  talking  about,  say  that  the  trouble  in  Cali- 
fornia was  that  the  Japanese  will  work  and  the  Ameri- 
can is  an  idler  and  won 't  work.  Why  he  was  n  't  howled 
out  of  the  auditorium  I  don't  know.  That  America  has 
reared  this  vast  continent  and  made  it  one  of  the  most 
productive  countries  in  the  world  did  not  seem  to  enter 
the  head  of  this  lawyer.  Yet  the  Japanese  problem  will 
not  be  solved  by  exclusion  alone. 

We  hear  constantly  that  the  reason  for  the  conflict  is 
that  Japanese  as  groups  and  as  tireless  workers  are 
able  to  outwork  Americans ;  and,  in  certain  special  types 
of  industry,  that  is  proved.  But  were  the  conditions 

1  From  the  Kokumin,  a  leading  newspaper. 


WHERE  THE  PROBLEM  DOVETAILS       343 

made  more  acceptable  to  Americans  in  those  industries, 
and  were  we  to  devise  mechanical  means  of  production 
suited  to  them,  it  would  not  be  long  before  Japanese 
labor  would  find  it  extremely  unprofitable  to  come  here, 
just  as  it  finds  it  unprofitable  to  go  to  Manchuria  and 
Korea,  where  it  has  to  compete  with  the  cheaper  Chinese 
and  Korean  labor.  Laws  and  restrictions  can  always  be 
evaded,  and  the  price  of  vigilance  is  more  costly  than 
the  gain.  But  those  laws  that  are  basic  in  the  condition 
of  life  no  man  can  evade. 

The  Gentlemen's  Agreement  has  not  worked  because 
gentlemen  themselves  seldom  work.  It  has  not  worked 
because  it  has  denied  America  the  right,  as  all  nations 
claim  it,  to  determine  who  shall  or  shall  not  come  in. 
Gentlemen  never  exact  such  agreements  from  their 
friends.  They  realize  that  a  man's  home  is  his  domain, 
to  be  entered  only  on  invitation.  Furthermore,  the 
agreement  is  not  mutually  retroactive.  It  says  that 
Japan  has  a  right  to  decide  the  issue,  and  promises  not 
to  permit  coolie  labor  to  enter  America.  I  shall  not  enter 
the  statistical  controversy  as  to  whether  flocks  of  Japa- 
nese have  or  have  not  evaded  the  agreement.  An  agree- 
ment such  as  that  should  be  evaded,  and  was  loose  enough 
to  make  evasion  simple.  That  is  enough  of  an  argu- 
ment. 

Japan  pleads  for  room  on  account  of  the  tremendous 
increase  in  her  population  every  year.  When  a  great 
appeal  is  made,  the  number  is  stated  as  700,000  or 
800,000,  according  to  the  emotional  condition  of  the 
appellant.  Professor  Dewey  contends  that  the  Japa- 
nese Government,  in  its  own  records,  admits  to  only  some 
300,000  or  400,000  a  year.  Whether  the  increase  in 
California  is  or  is  not  as  stated,  on  one  side  or  the  other, 
matters  little.  Japan 's  grounds  for  appealing  for  room 
are  sufficient.  If  the  increase  is  so  disgustingly  large 
in  Japan,  it  stands  to  reason  that  it  would  be  as  large,  if 
not  larger  here,  where  economic  opportunity  makes 


344  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

increase  possible  and  desirable.  Every  child  born  in 
America  is  a  handle  worth  getting  hold  of.  But  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  also  true  that  wherever  Japanese  better 
their  standard  of  living  their  birth-rate  falls,  as  with 
every  race.  In  which  case  there  is  only  one  answer  to 
Japan's  appeal  for  more  room:  Better  your  standard  of 
living  and  you  will  not  need  to  invade  our  house.  That 
disgusting  process  of  breeding  which  aggressive  nations 
indulge  in  should  be  decried  from  the  house-tops.  It  is 
no  great  mark  of  civilization  to  breed  like  mosquitos. 
Mosquitos  need  to  reproduce  by  the  millions  because 
their  eggs  are  consumed  by  the  millions  by  preying  crea- 
tures. Civilization  makes  it  possible  for  those  born  to 
survive.  (See  Appendix  D.) 

Some  students  of  Far  Eastern  affairs,  like  J.  0.  P. 
Bland,  urge  that  Japan  has  a  right  to  the  occupation  of 
Siberia;  and  none  will  gainsay  that.  But  the  fact  is 
that  though  free  to  go  both  to  Korea  and  Manchuria, 
Japanese  have  not  gone  to  these  regions  even  to  the  ex- 
tent of  one  year's  increase  in  population  during  the  last 
ten  years.  Where,  then,  is  the  argument?  As  has  been 
shown,  they  do  not  go  as  settlers  because  cheap  continen- 
tal labor  makes  it  unprofitable.  They  go  as  business-men, 
as  the  advance-guard  of  the  empire,  as  the  rear-guard  of 
the  army.  No  one  has  ever  raised  a  voice  against  the 
migration  of  Japanese  to  these  unpopulated  regions — 
with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  natives.  But  ever  and 
always  one  feels  the  hand  of  imperial  Japan  behind  each 
little  man  from  the  empire,  and  that  hold  on  her  nationals 
is  the  thing  that  vigorous  nations  resent,  because  it 
threatens  to  impair  their  status. 

That  is  what  California  and  the  sixteen  other  states 
who  share  her  views  feel.  They  are  conscious  of  some 
subsidy  behind  every  extensive  purchase  of  land.  From 
somewhere  Japanese  get  enough  money  to  buy  anything 
they  want.  It  is  always  the  paternalistic  arm  of  the 
Government  round  every  little  son  of  Nippon,  or  the  em- 


WHERE  THE  PROBLEM  DOVETAILS      345 

brace  of  his  family.  That  is  where  the  problem  begins 
and  that  is  where  it  ends.  If  only  some  chemical  sub- 
stance could  be  discovered  that,  when  poured  over  the 
Oriental,  would  separate  him  from  the  mass,  he  would  be 
as  good  a  fellow  as  can  be  found  anywhere  in  the  world. 
But  that  was  what  always  irritated  me  in  my  relations 
with  Japanese  in  Japan.  I  never  met  a  man  I  liked  but 
that  in  order  to  enjoy  association  with  him  I  had  to  tol- 
erate his  group.  If  I  started  off  anywhere  with  one,  I 
soon  had  a  retinue.  That  racial  clannishness  is  to  be 
found  everywhere,  but  nowhere  is  it  more  sticky  than  in 
ancestor-worshiping  Japan. 

Consequently,  in  whatever  manner  the  problem  is 
finally  solved  here  in  America,  one  thing  is  agreed  upon 
by  both  Japanese  and  anti-Japanese, — that  those  here 
will  have  to  be  redistributed  over  the  country,  their 
clannishness  broken  up.  That  is  a  problem  which  affects 
not  only  the  Japanese.  However,  nothing  that  is  now 
done  should  in  any  way  be  retroactive  so  as  to  deprive 
any  single  Japanese  of  the  fruits  of  his  labor.  Whatever 
solution  is  found  for  the  Japanese  problem  in  America, 
one  thing  is  certain, — that  no  war  will  ever  be  fought 
because  of  Japanese  immigration  to  America.  Japan, 
as  has  been  shown,  would  have  to  readjust  her  own  po- 
litical thinking  to  such  an  extent  as  virtually  to  revolu- 
tionize conditions  in  Japan  in  order  to  make  an  issue  of 
the  citizenship  problem  and  the  matter  of  alien  landown- 
ership  here.  Such  a  revolution  would  considerably  re- 
duce the  scope  of  the  issues,  they  would  fall  apart  and 
virtually  cease  to  exist. 

If  we  are  looking  for  the  causes  of  a  possible  conflict 
in  the  Pacific,  they  must  be  sought  not  in  California  but 
in  China.  The  dovetailing  of  the  angle  of  our  triangle 
in  America  is  contingent  upon  the  dovetailing  of  the 
angle  of  the  triangle  in  Asia.  The  one  in  America  can 
be  dislodged  only  by  a  wrenching  apart  of  the  angle 
in  Asia. 


346  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

Japan's  hegemony  in  Asia  is  a  serious  matter.  Japan 
is  an  industrial  nation  now.  She  is  entitled  to  access 
to  unused  resources  in  China.  Propinquity  accedes  this, 
but  propinquity  precludes  the  necessity  of  submerging 
China  in  the  process.  The  Open  Door  in  China  means 
peace  in  the  Pacific.  We  leave  it  to  time  to  determine 
what  the  walling  up  of  that  door  would  mean. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

AUSTRALIA    AND    THE   ANGLO-JAPANESE    ALLIANCE 

1 


JL 


tempest  in  the  European  teapot  has  become  a 
tornado  in  the  Pacific.  Small  as  the  Balkans  are, 
they  were  the  stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  the  down- 
ward expansion  of  the  European  powers. 

The  tragedy  in  Europe  has  left  Europe  in  the  back- 
ground. Civilization  is  rapidly  veering  round  in  the 
direction  of  the  Pacific.  There  are  little  nations  to-day 
whose  possession  is  as  fraught  with  unhappy  conse- 
quences as  anything  in  southern  Europe  ever  was.  Yet  we 
hear  innocent  dispensers  of  information  assure  us  that 
Yap  is  only  a  little  speck  in  the  Pacific  over  which  no  one 
would  think  of  going  to  war.  They  forget  that  America 
nearly  went  to  war  with  Germany  in  1889  over  the  Sa- 
moan  Islands,  which  then  meant  much  less  to  her.  And 
the  settlement  in  Europe  at  the  Peace  Conference  has 
greatly  enhanced  the  position  of  the  present  powers  in 
the  Pacific. 

Until  very  recently  two  developments  in  Pacific  affairs 
had  not  been  given  as  much  prominence  in  the  press  as 
they  deserved.  One,  the  Anglo-Japanese  Alliance,  and 
the  other  the  British  Imperial  Conferences,  held  every 
other  year  since  1907.  Just  in  proportion  as  the  Imperial 
Conferences  have  become,  as  it  were,  a  super-Parliament 
to  Great  Britain,  so  has  the  Anglo-Japanese  Alliance 
waned.  And  just  as  the  so-called  mandates  over  the 
various  island  groups  in  the  mid-Pacific  congeal  from 
lofty  aspirations  to  concrete  management  there  are 
emerging  in  the  Pacific  the  identical  antagonisms  that 

847 


348  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

made  of  the  little  group  of  states  in  Southern  Europe  the 
cause  of  the  conflict. 

The  Anglo-Japanese  Alliance  was  formed  in  1902.  Its 
aim  was  to  oust  Russia,  and  to  guarantee  British  inter- 
ests in  China.  Later  on  it  was  revised  to  include  Japa- 
nese protection  over  India.  But  consonant  with  that 
agreement  there  blossomed  in  the  British  Empire  a  new 
thing  to  be  reckoned  with, — an  independent  Australian 
navy.  That  navy  has  by  no  means  matured,  it  is  not 
and  cannot  for  years  to  come  be  a  great  consideration 
in  the  Pacific,  but  it  has  been  from  the  start  prophetic 
and  explanatory  of  much  that  is  taking  place  to-day.  It 
is  at  the  bottom  of  the  problem,  because  it  is  the  begin- 
ning of  Australian  independence,  of  her  rise  to  nation- 
hood. Let  me  rehearse  the  historical  incidents  in  con- 
nection with  this  development. 

Now,  until  the  advent  of  that  navy  all  the  colonies  had 
been  paying  certain  sums  yearly  toward  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  British  Navy, — Canada,  Australia,  New  Zea- 
land alike.  But  with  the  federation  of  the  Common- 
wealth, Australia  began  to  agitate  in  no  mistaken  terms 
for  a  navy  of  her  own,  to  be  built  and  manned  by  Aus- 
tralians, and  kept  in  Australian  waters,  rushing  only  in 
an  emergency  to  the  support  of  the  empire.  Canada  de- 
cided otherwise, — i.e.,  to  build  her  own  ships,  but  to 
merge  them  with  the  home  fleet ;  New  Zealand  continued 
the  old  scheme.  Being  twelve  hundred  miles  away  from 
Australia,  her  isolation  and  her  inadequate  resources  and 
population  made  her  more  timorous.  With  Australia  the 
construction  of  a  separate  little  fleet  was  the  beginning 
of  a  straining  at  the  leash.  Then  came  the  Anglo-Japa- 
nese Alliance,  which,  while  it  allayed  the  fears  of  the  Aus- 
tralians somewhat,  intensified  certain  other  phases  of 
the  problem,  such  as  the  White-Australia  policy.  The 
Russo-Japanese  War  did  nothing  to  allay  apprehension 
on  the  part  of  the  Australasians. 

For  years  both  the  Dominion  and  the  Commonwealth 


THE  ANGLO-JAPANESE  ALLIANCE      349 

were  absolutely  obsessed  by  the  naval  question.  Sir 
Joseph  Ward,  the  Prime  Minister  of  New  Zealand,  cham- 
pioned a  single,  undivided  imperial  navy;  the  late  Mr. 
Alfred  Deakin  of  Australia  stood  out  strongly  in  favor 
of  an  independent  navy.  Seeing  little  hope  of  a  very 
strong  concession  from  England,  Deakin  extended  and 
urged  an  invitation,  in  1908,  to  the  American  fleet  to 
visit  Australia.  He  admitted  that  his  object  was  to- 
arouse  Britain  to  fear  an  Australian- American  "alli- 
ance." The  thrust  went  home.  The  English  "felt  that 
it  was  using  strong  measures  for  an  Australian  states- 
man to  use  a  foreign  fleet  as  a  means  of  forwarding  a 
project  which  was  not  approved  by  the  Admiralty. ' '  But 
even  Sir  Joseph  Ward  let  himself  go  to  the  extent  of  de- 
claring that  they  welcomed  America  as  "  natural  allies  in 
the  coming  struggle  against  Japanese  domination. ' ' 

And  when  at  last  the  American  fleet  came  to  Australia, 
it  received  an  ovation  such  as  still  rings  in  the  conversa- 
tion of  any  Australian  with  an  American.  For  an  entire 
week  Sydney  celebrated.  Melbourne  followed  suit;,  New 
Zealand  could  not  but  take  up  the  cue.  Every  one  pointed 
with  pride  to  the  similarity  between  the  Australian  and 
the  American.  Australian  girls  virtually  threw  them- 
selves into  the  arms  of  American  sailors.  It  is  even 
said  that  many  a  sailor  remained  behind  with  an  Aus- 
tralian wife.  Not  even  the  Prince  of  Wales  (now  King 
George)  was  given  such  an  ovation. 

After  that  visit,  so  cordial  was  the  attitude  of  Aus- 
tralians that  everywhere  they  talked  of  floating  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  in  the  event  of — what?  In  the  event  of 
pressure  from  Downing  Street  or  from  Tokyo.  The 
Australian  temperament  is  not  one  which  buries  its  griev- 
ances or  harbors  ill-feeling.  The  Australian  speaks  right 
out  that  which  is  on  his  mind.  And  though  much  must 
be  discounted  because  of  this  bubbling  personality,  almost 
primitive  in  its  extremes,  nothing  that  affects  Australia 
can  long  be  ignored  by  us. 


350  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

Frankly,  the  situation  is  this :  Australia  is  set  on  her 
so-called  White-Australia  policy.  Australia  made  it 
clear  to  England  that,  alliance  or  no  alliance,  she  would 
never  swerve  from  her  policy  of  excluding  Japanese  and 
Chinese.  When  the  American  fleet  appeared,  knowing 
the  exclusion  of  Orientals  practised  in  America,  Aus- 
tralia felt  that  bond  of  fellowship  which  comes  from  corn- 
man  danger.  And  everything  was  done  to  develop  friend- 
ship; America  became  the  pattern  for  everything  Aus- 
tralian. Never  particularly  fond  of  the  Englishman,  at 
times  discriminating  against  him  as  much  as  against  the 
Oriental,  advertising  that  "No  Englishman  Need  Apply" 
when  looking  for  labor,  afraid  of  the  little  yellow  man 
up  there, — Australia  naturally  looked  to  America  as  a 
possible  defender. 

But  along  came  the  European  war.  Great  Britain 
was  in  danger.  America  held  aloof.  Then  everything 
changed.  The  wave  of  anti- American  sentiment  in  Aus- 
tralia was  much  more  pronounced  than  in  New  Zealand. 
This  was  a  strange  anomaly,  for  inherently  New  Zealand 
is  much  more  imperialistic.  But  it  was  characteristic  of 
the  Australian.  There  was  almost  a  boycott  against 
American  goods.  One  firm  published  a  scurrilous  adver- 
tisement which  the  American  Consul-General  at  Mel- 
bourne showed  me  and  said  he  had  sent  to  Washington. 
For  a  time  it  looked  rather  serious,  but  in  view  of  the 
Australian  character,  its  importance  was  not  very  great. 
It  was  the  impetuosity  of  a  little  boy,  disgruntled  because 
his  opinion  was  not  feared.  Many  said  openly:  "We 
were  so  fond  of  America  and  thought  you  were  our  friend. 
From  now  on  we  don't  want  anything  from  you.  We 
don't  want  your  protection." 

Yet,  as  late  as  December  8,  1916,  the  Sydney  "Morn- 
ing Herald"  said  editorially:  "And  those  of  its  who  think 
of  a  possible  rim  wider  America's  wmgs  forget  that  her 
strength  at  present  is  proportionately  no  greater  than 
our  own  [Australia's].  She  is  not  ready  for  either 


THE  ANGLO-JAPANESE  ALLIANCE        351 

offence  or  defence  and  she  knows  it.  This  being  so,  can 
we  ask  Great  Britain, ' '  etc.  The  feeling  toward  America 
at  that  time  was  only  commensurate  with  the  petty  jeal- 
ousies that  now  rankle  somewhat  because  of  fear  that 
America  has  taken  to  herself  too  much  credit  for  the 
accomplishment  of  victory.  But  then  it  gave  that  stim- 
ulus to  navalism  in  the  South  that  the  Australians 
wanted;  further,  it  gave  birth  to  the  movement  for 
greater  independence  in  imperial  affairs,  which  for 
twenty-five  years  had  determined  the  policies  of  the 
several  states. 

Just  recently  a  New  Zealand  navalist,  writing  in  the 
"Auckland  Weekly  News"  (New  Zealand),  brought  up 
the  dread  specter  "balance  of  power"  again,  calling 
attention  to  the  fact  that  inasmuch  as  Japan  is  a  great 
naval  power  and  America  is  increasing  her  naval 
strength,  it  is  for  democratic  Australasia  to  see  to  it 
that  Great  Britain  does  not  lag  behind  with  its  fleet  in 
the  Pacific, — to  maintain  the  balance  of  power.  And 
the  further  sad  fact  was  revealed  that  Australasia  (seen 
in  the  expression  of  this  one  individual  at  least)  did  not 
care  particularly  whether,  in  the  event  of  conflict,  they 
were  on  the  side  of  America  or  Japan. 

Feeling  did  not  take  the  same  turn  in  New  Zealand. 
That  little  country  continued  in  its  more  imperialistic 
tendencies,  was  content  to  be  a  finger  in  the  great  hand 
of  empire.  In  1909,  at  the  Imperial  Conference,  Mr. 
Joseph  Ward  sprung  a  surprise  by  offering  a  battle- 
cruiser  to  the  Government  without  consulting  his  con- 
stituents at  home.  For  this  he  was  knighted.  But  the 
New  Zealanders  were  in  a  mood  to  make  him  pay  for  it 
himself  when  he  returned.  Mr.  (now  Sir  Joseph)  Ward 
was  severely  criticized  for  what  he  did.  He  was  ridi- 
culed even  by  the  university  lads  during  their  "Cap- 
ping Carnival. ' '  They  took  him  off  in  effigy  and  carried 
a  little  boat  with  a  sign  saying :  * '  This  is  the  toy  he  bought 
his  crown  with."  Upon  his  return  from  the  conference 


352  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

he  lost  his  Prime  Ministership  and  a  "conservative"  gov- 
ernment came  into  power.  Later  developments  so  justi- 
fied him  that  he  became  a  sort  of  political  idol  for  a 
while.  When  the  cruiser  visited  New  Zealand,  in  1913, 
the  excitement  knew  no  bounds. 

Germany  was  always  regarded  as  a  potential  enemy. 
The  colonies  had  always  arched  their  backs  at  the  prox- 
imity of  German  possessions  in  the  South  Seas.  When 
in  1889  Samoa  was  the  bone  of  contention,  the  colonies 
were  rather  eager  to  have  America  take  it,  in  preference 
to  the  Germans.  Then,  as  Japan  came  to  the  fore,  Amer- 
ica as  a  potential  protection  became  more  and  more 
obvious  to  Australasians.  The  Panama  Canal  intensi- 
fied their  conviction.  They  looked  forward  to  a  com- 
bination of  British  and  American  power  for  the  further- 
ance of  peace  as  they  conceived  it  should  be  maintained, 
and  consciousness  of  their  own  destiny  in  the  Pacific 
was  stimulated.  Suddenly  they  were  brought  close  to 
the  United  States.  The  anti-Japanese  riots  in  Califor- 
nia, the  annexation  of  Hawaii,  the  protectorate  over  the 
Philippines  all  pointed  to  the  Australasians  lessons  for 
their  own  guidance.  They  could  not  expect  from  Eng- 
land the  same  keen  interest  in  racial  questions  which 
manifested  itself  in  America.  America  demonstrated 
the  dangers  of  having  two  unmixable  races  like  the  white 
and  the  black  together ;  Hawaii  showed  them  that  Asiatic 
immigration  is  a  breeder  of  trouble.  They  do  not  seem 
to  see  that  circumstances  are  not  the  same,  that  the  pres- 
sure of  population  has  become  much  more  keen,  that 
industrial  conditions  in  the  world  to-day  are  altogether 
different  from  what  they  were  when  Great  Britain 
refused  to  have  her  American  colonies  put  down  the 
kidnapping  of  Africans;  that  America  to-day  has 
110,000,000  people  and  has  encouraged  them  to  come  from 
every  country  in  Europe,  as  Australia  does  not. 

Australia  looks  only  at  the  most  obvious  phase  of 
the  problem, — that  certain  people  are  not  happy  together. 


THE  ANGLO- JAPANESE  ALLIANCE        353 

Whether  or  not  she  over-estimates  her  own  strength 
against  the  pressure  of  changed  conditions,  remains  to 
be  seen,  but  she  is  pursuing  her  own  course  with  a  cer- 
tain steadfastness  that  is  at  once  a  pathetic  blindness 
and  a  courageous  self-assertion.  In  a  country  whose 
political  outlook  is  essentially  generous,  whose  labor 
experiments  have  been  extremely  costly  to  her,  it  strikes 
one  as  a  great  contradiction  of  principle.  How  can  a 
labor  government  be  so  utterly  opposed  to  the  extension 
of  ideal  opportunities  to  laborers  from  other  lands  seek- 
ing to  enjoy  them?  How  can  she  be  so  utterly  capital- 
istic on  a  national  scale  when  nearly  everything  within 
her  own  ken  is  laboristic?  The  explanation  of  this 
enigma  lies  in  a  certain  measure  in  the  manner  in  which 
Australia  has  set  about  making  herself  independent  of 
her  mother  country  and,  while  working  indirectly  for  the 
break-up  of  the  empire,  is  becoming  imperial  in  her  own 
small  way.  All  these  counter  currents  must  be  seen 
clearly  before  understanding  can  follow.  They  whirl 
about  the  pillar  of  imperialism — England — and  have 
come  out  clearly  since  the  war.  They  hinge  upon  the 
mandates  over  the  South  Sea  Islands. 

2 

While,  as  has  been  shown,  Australia  has  for  twenty 
years  pursued  a  course  that  threatens  to  lead  toward 
separation  from  England,  New  Zealand  has  bound  her- 
self closer  and  closer.  Australia,  however,  has  been 
extremely  shy  of  any  semblance  of  rupture.  She  does 
not  want  to  break  away.  She  feels  her  isolation  too 
much.  But  what  she  wants  is  in  a  sense  the  rights  that 
American  states  have  within  the  Union.  She  wants  to 
be  independent,  to  be  able  to  develop  in  her  own  way, 
to  expand,  if  necessary,  without  danger  of  attack.  This 
spirit  is  inherent  in  the  Australian  temperament.  When 
I  told  any  Australian  that  I  was  traveling  and  tramping 
on  '  *  me  own, ' '  he  could  not  understand  it.  He  could  not 


354  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

go  without  a  mate.  He  wanted  to  be  sure  that  if  he  got 
into  any  scrape  and  was  with  his  back  to  the  wall,  his 
mate  was  there  to  help  him.  Still,  he  wanted  to  fight 
alone.  It  did  not  seem  to  occur  to  any  of  these  people 
that  a  civilized  man  might  go  the  wild  world  over  and 
not  have  occasion  to  fight.  And  this  trait  comes  out  in 
Australian  international  relations.  She  wants  to  pur- 
sue the  White-Australia  policy  contrary  to  sentiment 
in  England,  to  develop  her  own  navy,  to  hold  .the  whole 
continent  against  the  time  when  full  nationhood  will 
have  become  a  reality.  But  for  the  time  at  least  she 
will  not  declare  her  independence  of  Great  Britain.  She 
will  not  even  give  Britain  the  imperial  preference  in 
trade  which  would  compensate  her  for  her  trouble.  But 
she  did  show  in  the  last  war  that  she  realized  her  respon- 
sibilities. In  the  Boer  War  it  was  said  that  her  assist- 
ance was  merely  for  the  sake  of  giving  her  men  adventure 
and  practice  for  possible  later  use  in  her  own  defense. 
And  in  this  war  conscription  was  defeated  because,  as  it 
was  openly  declared,  it  was  not  certain  what  the  turn  of 
affairs  in  Europe  might  be.  It  was  felt  imperative  that 
the  men  be  not  all  gone  and  the  continent  left  undefended. 
And  that  contingency  was  voiced  by  the  Premier  of 
Queensland  as  involving — Japan.  To  the  outsider, 
Australia's  attitude  seems  extremely  selfish,  but  to 
enthusiastic  young  Australia,  with  the  wide  world  before 
her,  with  a  future  that  looks  as  promising  as  that  of 
America,  it  seems  the  only  logical  one.  And  as  long  as 
her  potential  enemies  do  not  take  the  trouble  to  show 
by  deeds  that  they  are  not  enemies,  her  reasoning  is  not 
unjustifiable. 

But  a  strange  thing  has  happened  to  Australia.  She 
has  got  what  she  was  after,  and  now  she  hardly  wants  it. 
She  fought  for  the  imperial  conference  method  of  set- 
tling imperial  affairs.  Australians  have  time  and  again 
declared  that  though  an  empire,  they  are  a  nation  first 
and  foremost.  That  the  empire  represented  too  hetero- 


THE  ANGLO-JAPANESE  ALLIANCE       355 

geneous  a  list  of  peoples  for  them  to  forget  that  an 
Indian,  though  part  of  the  empire,  is  still  an  inferior  as 
far  as  they  are  concerned.  And  Australia  realized  that 
the  mother  country  could  not  see  eye  to  eye  with  her  on 
that  score.  Yet  she  insists  on  the  Anglo-Japanese  Alli- 
ance remaining  in  some  form  acceptable  to  her  and  to 
America.  How  is  that  to  be  f  What  has  happened  since 
peace  was  declared? 

Australia  and  New  Zealand  were  loudest  in  the  protest 
against  the  return  of  the  South  Sea  Islands  to  the  Ger- 
mans. New  Zealand  soldiers  had  taken  Samoa;  the 
Australian  navy — what  there  was  of  it — had  cleared  the 
neighboring  seas  of  German  raiders.  But  though  they 
asked  that  Germany  be  deprived  of  the  possessions,  and 
though  the  leaders  thundered  for  a  New  Zealand  man- 
date over  Samoa  and  an  Australian  mandate  over  New 
Guinea,  the  people  realized  that  they  did  not  particularly 
care  for  the  burden  of  looking  after  these  lands.  Mr. 
Hughes  of  Australia  urged  annexation.  The  people  as 
a  whole  preferred  that  Great  Britain  should  annex  them 
and  guarantee  the  dominions  against  possible  dangers 
from  enemy  control.  They  felt  they  could  not  stand  the 
cost  of  governing  them.  They  were  even  not  averse  to 
their  being  turned  over  to  America.  They  have  come  to 
realize  that  they  were  much  better  off  before  the  war, 
when  they  merely  contributed  their  small  quota  to  the 
support  of  the  navy;  now  Great  Britain  has  intimated 
that  she  can  no  longer  maintain  that  navy  without  their 
full  share  in  its  costs.  Besides,  the  mandate  over  the 
islands  is  not  going  to  be  simple. 

3 

Before  giving  consideration  to  the  developments  which 
not  even  the  Australasians  had  anticipated,  let  us  look 
upon  the  gains  they  have  made.  They  have  acquired 
some  new  possessions  which  make  of  them  an  empire 
within  the  empire,  as  it  were.  The  islands  of  the  south 
Pacific  are  to  be  ruled  as  though  they  were  an  integral 


356  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

part  of  New  Zealand  and  Australia,  yet  they  have  their 
own  facets  just  as  the  Dominions  had  their  own  problems 
within  the  empire.  They  afford  them  certain  commer- 
cial advantages :  copra  and  cocoa  from  Samoa,  phosphate 
from  Nauru,  which  alone  has  an  estimated  deposit 
amounting  to  forty-two  million  tons.  Nauru  is  of  utmost 
importance  to  them  because  they  are  extensive  agricul- 
tural countries.  It  has  been  agreed  that  Great  Britain 
take  42%,  Australia  42%,  and  New  Zealand  16%  of  the 
export.  The  South  Seas  as  a  whole  supply  14.7%  of 
the  world's  copra  supply,  and  this  may  yet  be  greatly 
increased.  But  this  is  nothing  compared  with  the  advan- 
tages they  afford  as  ports  of  call.  Further,  if  the  plan 
of  linking  the  islands  together  by  wireless  is  effected, 
they  will  become  an  outer  frontier  for  the  Antipodes 
of  inestimable  value.  There  is  even  a  faint  suggestion 
of  binding  them  together  into  one  separate  governmental 
entity, — a  buffer  state,  as  it  were,  between  the  big  powers 
in  the  Pacific. 

But  what  are  these  few  assets  compared  with  the 
greatly  extended  line  of  defense  now  left  to  the  Domin- 
ion to  keep  up?  What  is  that  to  the  great  problem  of 
how  to  develop  the  native  races!  Australia  is  interested 
in  developing  Queensland,  a  tropical  region,  not  the  dis- 
tant island  beyond.  The  question  of  labor  is  bad  enough 
for  themselves,  without  having  added  regions  to  worry 
about.  Throughout  the  Pacific  the  problem  of  where  to 
secure  man-power  is  pressing.  Hawaii  cries  for  labor; 
Samoa  is  in  a  similar  state ;  Fiji  is  troubled  with  the  in- 
dentured Indians  now  there.  Go  where  one  will,  the 
islands  would  yield  readily  enough  if  cheap  labor  were 
available.  But  Australia  and  New  Zealand  are  not  will- 
ing to  exploit  these  islands  at  the  expense  of  cheap 
Asiatic  labor  which  evolves  into  a  racial  problem  as  soon 
as  its  returns  become  adequate.  As  for  the  mandates 
both  labor  and  capital  in  the  South  Seas  are  not  keen 
about  these  war  orphans.  A  further  problem  is,  what 


THE  ANGLO-JAPANESE  ALLIANCE        357 

will  happen  when  the  policy  applied  to  island  posses- 
sions conflicts  with  the  course  permitted  by  the  law  of 
the  mandate?  What  is  worse  yet,  the  mandate  over 
the  South  Seas  has  brought  Japan  closer  by  hundreds 
of  miles  to  both  New  Zealand  and  Australia,  and  has 
thrown  open  the  question  of  admission  of  Asiatic  peo- 
ple to  these  islands.  The  Australasians  feel  that 
they  are  obliged  to  protect  not  only  themselves  from 
Asiatic  competition,  but  the  native  races  as  well.  If 
they  are  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  mandate  to 
rule  the  islands  for  the  good  of  the  natives,  they  feel 
that  they  cannot  introduce  Asiatic  labor,  which  under- 
mines the  natives  economically  and  morally  every  time 
it  is  attempted.  These  are  some  of  the  problems  Aus- 
tralasia inherited  from  the  Peace  Conference. 

How  have  they  affected  the  relations  of  New  Zealand 
and  the  Commonwealth  of  Australia  with  Great  Britain? 
They  have  put  a  new  strain  upon  the  empire  as  such; 
they  have  put  an  added  strain  upon  the  relations  be- 
tween Japan  and  Great  Britain;  they  have  driven  a 
wedge  into  the  Anglo-Japanese  Alliance. 

Further,  the  whole  question  of  mandates  as  it  per- 
tains to  the  Pacific  has  completely  opened  new  sores. 
The  island  of  Yap,  which  has  been  in  the  press  so  much 
of  late,  is  an  example.  A  blow  at  so  vital  a  factor  in 
world  relations  as  cables  would  be  like  a  blow  on  the 
medulla  oblongata.  Yet  under  that  new  and  misleading 
term,  " mandate,"  Yap  became  Japanese,  and  the  near 
future  is  not  likely  to  know  just  what  was  done  when 
Germany's  colonies  were  apportioned  under  its  ruling. 
Yet  what  is  fair  for  Great  Britain  and  the  Dominions 
should  be  fair  for  Japan,  and  if  mandate  means  posses- 
sion for  one  it  ought  to  mean  it  for  the  other.  But  where 
do  we  come  in  and  where  the  peace  of  the  Pacific?  Al- 
ready, as  stated  elsewhere,  Japan  has  had  in  mind  the 
fortification  of  the  Marshall  Islands.  She  is  proceeding 
to  fortify  the  Bonin  Islands  and  the  Pescadores.  She 


358  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

is,  according  to  a  very  recent  rumor, — and  rumors  are 
really  the  only  things  one  can  secure  in  such  matters, — 
establishing  an  airship  station  on  the  southeast  coast  of 
Formosa, — not  on  the  west,  which  would  shorten  her 
distance  to  China,  but  on  the  east,  cutting  down  mileage 
to  the  Philippines.  And  we?  Well,  we  know  what  we  are 
about,  too.  Hence,  the  sooner  such  matters  as  mandates 
are  defined,  the  better  for  the  world. 


How  would  these  things  work  out  with  the  new  British 
arrangement  as  to  the  control  of  the  Dominions?  We 
have  seen  that  behind  the  whole  struggle  for  the  devel- 
opment of  an  Australian  navy  was  the  desire  for  greater 
independence.  As  long  as  the  war  lasted,  no  trouble- 
some topics  were  broached.  Now  that  the  war  is  over, 
one  may  expect  the  feathers  to  begin  to  fly.  The  Domin- 
ions are  not  stifling  their  desire  for  greater  and  greater 
freedom.  They  were  involved  in  a  colossal  war  without 
ever  having  been  consulted.  They  feel  that  now  they 
have  earned  their  right  to  express  judgment  on  interna- 
tional affairs.  They  realize  that  nothing  could  be  done 
effectively  if  Downing  Street  were  hampered  by  several 
wills  at  work  at  the  same  time.  Yet  it  is  obvious  that  the 
people  of  the  Dominions  are  concerned  first  with  their 
own  affairs,  as  nations,  and  are  devoted  to  Britain  only 
in  a  secondary  manner.  They  are  now  conscious  of  their 
power,  and  are  determined  to  wield  it.  They  have  made 
and  are  doing  everything  to  continue  to  make  friends 
on  their  own,  by  whom  they  mean  to  stand  through  thick 
and  thin.  At  the  Peace  Conference  they  were  not  in- 
ferior to  any  of  the  deliberators,  and  signed  the  Peace 
Treaty  as  virtual  members  of  the  League  of  Nations. 

"But,"  asks  the  Wellington  "Evening  Post,"  "are 
the  Dominions  ever  to  cast  an  international  vote  against 
the  Mother  Country  on  a  question  relating,  say,  to  the 


THE  ANGLO-JAPANESE  ALLIANCE        359 

future  of  the  Pacific  regarding  which  their  interests  and 
wishes  might  rather  harmonize  with  those  of  the  United 

States?" 

Mr.  Massey,  the  Prime  Minister  of  New  Zealand,  on 
the  other  hand,  held  "that  the  Dominions  had  signed  the 
Treaty  not  as  independent  nations  in  the  ordinary  sense, 
but  as  nations  within  the  Empire  or  partners  in  the  Em- 
pire. ' ' 

But  to  show  how  complicated  the  whole  position  was, 
a  Mr.  W.  Downie  Stewart,  M.P.,  pointed  out  that 

When  New  Zealand  signed  the  Peace  Treaty  .  .  .  she  took  upon  her- 
self the  status  of  a  power  involving  herself  in  all  the  rights  and  obliga- 
tions of  one  of  the  signatories.  .  .  .  That  means  that  she  may  have 
created  for  herself  a  new  status  altogether  in  the  world  of  foreign 
affairs,  and  instead  of  being  an  act  to  bring  together  more  closely  the 
component  parts  of  the  Empire,  it  may  be  that  it  was  the  first  and 
most  serious  step  toward  obtaining  our  independence  and  treating 
ourselves  as  a  sovereign  power. 

And  in  connection  with  Samoa  he  says  the  time  may  come 
when,  having  been  recognized  as  an  independent  power, 
they  will  be  told  "we  look  to  you  in  future,  whenever  a 
question  of  internal  affairs  arises,  to  act  as  an  inde- 
pendent power,  making  peace  or  war  on  your  own  initia- 
tive." 

Prime  Minister  Hughes,  of  Australia,  however,  has 
been  steering  a  middle  course.  He  points  to  the  dangers 
lying  ahead,  and  to  the  absolute  necessity  of  keeping 
close  to  Britain.  He  urges  that  the  alliance  with  Japan 
be  renewed,  but  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  no  danger  of 
losing  America's  friendship.  But  he  shows  that  the 
spirit  of  independence  is  still  uppermost  in  Australia. 
Declaring  that  *  *  The  June  Conference  has  not  been  called 
to  even  consider  Constitutional  changes,"  he  adds:  "It 
it  is  painfully  evident  from  articles  which  have  appeared 
in  the  press  and  in  magazines  .  .  .  that  to  a  certain  type 
of  mind,  the  Constitution  of  the  British  Empire  is  far 
from  what  it  should  be." 

But  though  Hughes  is  to-day  the  leader  of  Australia, 


360  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

it  is  not  because  lie  has  the  country  back  of  him.  It  is 
rather  because  there  is  unfortunately  no  better  man  on 
hand.  He  has  never  cared  much  for  consistency,  and 
even  in  the  matter  of  the  Anglo-Japanese  Alliance  there 
is  a  suggestion  of  yielding  that  makes  one  feel  uncertain. 
He  has  declared  that  at  the  present  conference  the  ques- 
tion of  a  reorganization  of  the  Government  so  as  to 
give  the  Dominions  a  direct  share  in  the  control  of  im- 
perial affairs  is  not  even  being  thought  of,  but  it  is  evi- 
dent in  his  speech  that  that  question  is  going  to  be  de- 
layed only  because  more  pressing  matters,  such  as  the 
Anglo-Japanese  Alliance  and  Imperial  Naval  Defense, 
must  be  dealt  with  first.  In  other  words,  as  spokesman 
he  realizes  that  " little"  Australia,  with  its  five  million 
people  and  its  vast  continent  has  asked  too  much  of  its 
parent  to  be  allowed  to  stand  alone.  So  he  is  pouring 
oil  on  the  troubled  waters  by  trying  to  devise  an  Anglo- 
Japanese  Treaty  "in  such  form,  modified,  if  that  should 
be  deemed  proper,  as  will  be  acceptable  to  Britain,  to 
America,  to  Japan,  and  to  ourselves. ' ' 

But  there  is  a  third  consideration  in  this  whole  ques- 
tion, and  that  is  Japan.  What  is  Japan  going  to  say 
about  it  all!  For  some  time  Japanese  have  been  rather 
cool  in  their  enthusiasm  over  the  alliance,  because  it 
seems  to  them  to  have  outlived  its  usefulness  and  because 
Article  4  absolves  Great  Britain  from  assisting  Japan 
in  the  event  of  war  with  America.  The  ' '  Osaka  Asahi, ' ' 
one  of  the  most  influential  of  Japanese  journals,  has 
boldly  advocated  its  abrogation.  The  reason  for  both 
British  and  Japanese  indifference  is  obvious.  Russia  and 
Germany  are  out  of  the  way.  British  mercantile  interests 
are  not  at  all  satisfied  with  Japanese  methods  in  China. 
The  alliance  has  been  disregarded  twice, — when  the  Sino- 
Japanese  Military  Agreement  was  signed,  and  when  the 
Twenty-one  Demands  were  made.  Furthermore,  the  al- 
liance never  protected  Japanese  interests  when  they 


THE  ANGLO-JAPANESE  ALLIANCE        361 

came  in  conflict  with  the  interests  of  the  colonies,  nor  has 
it  prevented  British  interests  from  suffering  in  the  Far 
East.  As  a  protective  alliance  it  has  little  more  to  do 
except  to  guarantee  Great  Britain  against  Japan  and 
Japan  against  Great  Britain.  China  is  extremely  an- 
tagonistic, because  she  deems  herself  to  be  the  worst  suf- 
ferer. She  is  the  main  point  under  consideration,  yet 
she  has  not  been  consulted.  Hence  she  has  done  every- 
thing in  her  power  to  arouse  public  opinion  against  its 
renewal. 

Nevertheless,  Japan  has  been  concerned  enough  for 
the  renewal  of  the  alliance  to  make  a  departure  from  her 
age-long  attitude  toward  the  imperial  family  that  is 
extremely  interesting  if  not  illuminating.  The  recent 
visit  to  England  of  Prince  Hirohito,  heir  to  the  throne, 
while  meant  to  widen  his  grasp  of  world  affairs,  was  cer- 
tainly intended  also  to  arouse  public  feeling  there  in 
favor  of  Japan  and  the  alliance.  This  was  the  first  time 
that  any  Japanese  prince  of  the  blood  had  left  Japan. 
He  hobnobbed  with  the  common  people,  a  thing  unheard 
of  in  Japan.  But  if  he  succeeded  in  winning  popular 
approval  for  the  alliance,  it  was  doubtless  worth  while 
from  the  Japanese  point  of  view.  Otherwise  the 
risk  would  not  have  been  justified,  for  such  visits  are  not 
without  their  dangers.  It  is  interesting  to  recall  that 
when  Nicholas,  Czarevitch  of  Russia,  made  a  tour  of 
the  world  upon  the  completion  of  the  Siberian  Railway, 
in  1891,  he  passed  through  Japan.  An  attack  upon  his 
person  by  a  Japanese  policeman  nearly  brought  down 
the  wrath  of  the  czar  upon  Japan,  and  there  was  much 
explanation. 

While  Japan  was  anxious  to  have  the  alliance  renewed, 
she  argued  that  England  was  more  in  need  of  it  than  she. 
America,  she  said,  had  somewhat  eclipsed  England. 
Japanese  feel  that  England  must  now  lean  on  Japan  as 
never  before.  They  felt  this  when  the  alliance  was 


362  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

formed.    Count   Hayashi,   in   his   "Secret   Memoirs," 
quotes  a  statement  attributed  to  Marquis  Ito,  as  follows : 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  England  has  broken  her  record  in 
foreign  politics  and  has  decided  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with  us;  the 
mere  fact  that  England  has  adopted  this  attitude  shows  that  she  is 
in  dire  need,  and  she  therefore  wants  to  use  us  in  order  to  make  us 
bear  some  of  her  burdens. 

Ito  was  then  playing  Russia  against  England.  To-day 
England  is  being  played  against  America,  and  the  colo- 
nies are  eager  to  utilize  the  feelings  of  Japan  and  Amer- 
ica for  a  greater  Pacific  fleet  and  for  their  own  aug- 
mented freedom  within  the  empire.  There  is  much  talk 
of  a  secret  agreement  existing  between  Japan  and  Great 
Britain.  Even  if  there  were,  Great  Britain  would  be 
able  to  live  up  to  it,  in  the  event  of  war  between  Japan 
and  America,  only  at  the  risk  of  losing  her  colonies. 
However,  that  need  not  be  taken  as  a  serious  check,  for 
though  Great  Britain  wants  her  colonies,  she  does  not 
want  them  enough  to  forego  all  other  considerations. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  good  deal  of  the  pro- American 
feeling  in  the  colonies  cannot  be  accepted  too  easily,  for, 
as  we  have  seen,  when  America  remained  neutral  they 
forgot  blood  relationship  in  their  criticism.  To-day 
there  are  interpretations  of  the  alliance  which  would  put 
Great  Britain  in  exactly  the  same  position  toward  her 
younger  "daughters"  for  which  Australasia  condemned 
America  in  1914-17.  But  both  the  psychological  and  ma- 
terial elements  in  the  situation  point  to  an  absolutely 
united  front  in  Australasia  for  America  in  event  of  all 
the  talk  about  war  with  Japan  coming  to  a  head.  That  is 
best  illustrated  by  a  statement  in  the  "Japan  Chronicle." 
The  editor  says:  "As  we  have  repeatedly  pointed  out, 
it  is  unthinkable  that  Britain  should  join  Japan  in  actual 
warfare  with  America.  No  Ministry  in  England  which 
deliberately  adopted  such  a  policy  would  live  for  a  single 
day. '  '  And  the  colonies,  from  Canada  to  Australia,  will 
echo  that  sentiment,  as  they  did  boldly  at  the  Confer- 
ence. 


THE  ANGLO-JAPANESE  ALLIANCE        363 

But  it  seems  that  with  so  much  of  the  world  vitally 
interested  in  maintaining  peace  in  the  Pacific  there 
should  be  no  difficulty  at  all  in  so  doing.  The  colonies 
are  sincere  in  their  desire  for  amity  with  America;  nor 
is  it  merely  a  matter  of  common  language.  No  one  who 
has  taken  the  trouble  to  inquire  into  Far  Eastern  affairs 
finds  the  handicap  of  language  even  the  remotest  cause 
of  misunderstanding.  Actions  speak  louder  than  words, 
and  none  but  the  ignorant  can  now  misread  what  is  go- 
ing on  in  Asia.  Let  but  those  actions  coincide  with  the 
promises  made,  with  the  spirit  of  the  alliance  and  with 
the  constant  expression  of  amity  and  good-will,  and  we 
shall  see  the  mist  of  war  in  the  Pacific  clear  as  before 
the  glories  of  the  morning  sun. 

There  seems,  therefore,  no  justification  for  the  re- 
newal of  the  Anglo-Japanese  Alliance.  It  is  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes  virtually  dead.  Alliances  on  the  whole 
have  proved  themselves  treacherous  safeguards.  Is 
there  not  something  which  can  be  substituted  for  them? 
Cannot  cooperation  among  nations  replace  intriguing 
misalliances,  with  their  vicious  secret  diplomacy?  One 
way  has  been  launched,  and  in  the  succeeding  chapter  its 
character  will  be  analyzed. 


CHAPTER  XXin 

THE  CONSOBTIUM  FOB  FINANCING  CHINA 


IF  all  goes  well,  tlie  open  shop  in  international  finance 
is  a  thing  of  the  past ;  at  least  so  far  as  China  goes. 
On  May  11,  1920,  exactly  eighteen  months  after  the  sign- 
ing of  the  armistice,  Japan  formally  declared  her  will- 
ingness to  enter  the  new  consortium  for  lending  money  to 
China,  and  on  October  15,  following,  representatives  of 
the  British,  French,  Japanese,  and  American  banking- 
groups  met  in  New  York  and  there  signed  the  provi- 
sions by  which  they  are  for  the  next  five  years  going 
to  finance  China  under  what  is  known  as  the  Consortium 
Agreement. 

For  a  full  year  after  the  signing  of  the  armistice, 
Great  Britain,  France,  and  America  had  been  ready  to 
act  in  consort  in  the  matter  of  future  loans  to  China,  but 
Japan  insisted  on  excluding  from  the  terms  of  the  agree- 
ment international  activity  in  Manchuria  and  Eastern 
Inner  Mongolia.  These  two  provinces  have  virtually  be- 
come Japanese  territory.  Into  these  she  has  extended 
her  railroads  or  added  to  those  built  by  Russia,  and  over 
these  she  watched  as  a  hen  over  ducklings.  And  be- 
cause she  strenuously  sought  to  manoeuver  the  Allies 
into  admitting  her  prior  rights  to  these  regions,  the  con- 
summation of  the  Consortium  Agreement  was  delayed 
and  delayed.  Japan  finally  yielded,  at  the  same  time 
claiming  that  the  powers  conceded  her  special  inter- 
ests; while  they,  through  their  chief  representative,  Mr. 
Thomas  W.  Lament,  claimed  that  Japan  waived  these 
interests.  We  shall  presently  see  what  happened,  but 

364 


THE  CONSORTIUM  365 

in  the  meantime  it  is  obvious  that  both  yielded  and  both 
won  out, — and  that  no  nation  is  to-day  sufficiently  pow- 
erful and  self-contained  to  be  able  to  stand  apart  from 
the  rest  of  the  world.  The  closed  shop  in  international 
finance  has  been  ushered  in,  and  the  union  of  world 
bankers  is  now  known  as  the  Consortium. 

In  a  chapter  it  is  hardly  possible  to  make  more  than 
a  hasty  survey  of  so  intricate  a  stretch  of  history. 
China  before  the  war  with  Japan  was  free  from  debt,  but 
in  order  to  meet  the  indemnity  demanded  by  Japan  she 
was  compelled  to  raise  money  abroad.  The  scramble 
among  the  foreign  powers  to  advance  this  money  gave 
China  certain  advantages.  Her  own  capitalists  had  money 
enough  to  pay  off  this  indemnity  immediately,  but  they 
did  not  trust  their  government  and  hoarded  their  funds. 
They  knew  that  with  the  Oriental  system  of  "squeeze" 
only  a  fraction  of  it  would  succeed  in  freeing  their 
country. 

Another  factor  conspired  to  introduce  alien  domina- 
tion over  China, — her  lack  of  railroads  and  modern  in- 
dustries. She  had  wealth,  man-power,  everything  that 
an  isolated  nation  could  possibly  desire,  but  she  was  no 
longer  an  isolated  nation,  and  she  had  nothing  that  an 
active  nation  among  nations  needed  for  its  very  exist- 
ence. Instantly,  along  with  the  loans,  came  concessions 
for  railroad-building,  and  the  development  of  China  be- 
gan. So  deeply  was  China  getting  embroiled  in  alien 
machinations  that  five  years  later,  seeing  that  the  young 
emperor  himself,  Huang-Hsu,  was  head-over-heels  in  love 
with  Western  ways,  the  reactionaries  precipitated  the 
Boxer  Uprising  in  1900.  This  only  resulted  in  another 
overwhelming  indemnity,  which  China  has  not  yet  suc- 
ceeded in  paying  off.  Consequently,  more  loans  had  to 
be  made,  and  more  urgent  still  became  the  necessity  for 
means  of  transportation  and  for  the  modernization  of 
industry. 

The   Russo-Japanese  War,  which  ordinarily  might 


366  THE  PACIFIC  TEIANGLE 

have  meant  a  modicum  of  relief  to  China,  only  succeeded 
in  entrenching  her  enemy  much  more  securely  at  her 
very  door,  and  another  period  of  alien  scrambling  over 
Chinese  loans  set  in.  Cooperation  among  various  groups 
of  foreign  bankers  regardless  of  nationality  was  not  un- 
known, for  absolute  competition  would  most  likely  have 
been  fatal.  But  thoroughly  thought-out  getting  together 
was,  in  view  of  the  existing  jealousy  among  nations, 
inconceivable.  Still,  to  such  a  pass  had  this  suicidal 
competition  come  that  by  1909  a  consortium  was  pro- 
posed which  aimed  to  include  Eussia,  Japan,  Germany, 
France,  England,  and  America.  It  began  to  work,  but 
Secretary  of  State  Knox  made  a  proposal  for  the  neu- 
tralization and  internationalization  of  the  Manchurian 
railway  system  which  met  with  a  cold  NO  from  Japan. 
Shortly  afterward  Japan  made  an  agreement  with  Russia 
which  completely  frustrated  Knox's  proposals,  and  the 
thing  virtually  fell  through. 

In  1913,  President  "Wilson  took  the  matter  in  hand. 
He  refused  to  become  a  party  to  a  scheme  which,  in  his 
estimation,  instead  of  working  for  the  rehabilitation  of 
China  and  the  Open  Door  bound  her  helplessly.  And 
ever  since  China  has  been  getting  "the  crumby  side"  of 
every  deal.  For  the  plan  as  it  then  existed  had  no  pro- 
visions against  the  pernicious  practice  of  marrying  China 
to  one  power  after  another  with  concessions,  without 
giving  any  guaranty  of  the  preservation  of  her  dower 
rights, — freedom  in  her  industrial  and  political  affairs. 

Russia  then  was  Japan's  "natural"  enemy.  Russia 
was  threatening  the  "very  existence"  of  Japan.  Yet 
when  Knox's  proposal  came  up,  Japan  was  ready  to 
unite  with  Russia  in  order  to  keep  the  others  out  of 
Manchuria.  She  had  to  use  that  argument  to  save  her 
face.  Bear  this  in  mind,  for  we  shall  presently  see  that 
a  second  time  Japan  used  this  argument  in  order  to  keep 
the  consummation  of  the  consortium  in  abeyance.  It 
was  more  than  a  plea  for  special  interests  because  of 


THE  CONSOETIUM  367 

propinquity;  it  was  a  plea  that  the  peace  and  safety  of 
the  empire  demanded  it. 

Propinquity !  The  pin  in  that  word  has  pricked  nearly 
every  one  who  has  shown  any  interest  in  China,  no  mat- 
ter where.  Japan  used  propinquity  as  a  justification  of 
her  annexation  of  Korea,  breaking  her  word  to  that  king- 
dom in  so  doing.  Yet  Japan  contends  that  she  never  has 
broken  her  word.  Japan  is  a  nation  true  to  her  word, 
but,  like  many  another  nation,  is  loose  in  her  wording. 
She  has  guaranteed  the  Open  Door  in  Manchuria  and 
Mongolia, — and  Korea.  In  Korea  the  door  is  shut,  and 
Japan  has  made  entrance  to  the  other  spheres  of  little 
advantage.  Hi-content  with  penetration  of  these  regions, 
she  has,  by  means  of  her  railroads  there,  sought  to  divert 
the  course  of  Chinese  trade  from  Shanghai  through 
Manchuria  and  Korea  and  Japan.  In  this  there  is  noth- 
ing intrinsically  wrong.  But  she  goes  farther  and  tries 
to  exclude  consortium  activity  in  other  fields  in  these 
two  provinces.  But  that  these  are  not  the  only  slices 
of  China  she  is  after, — that  they  are,  in  fact,  only  step- 
ping-stones for  the  final  domination  of  the  great  republic, 
— is  attested  to  by  certain  well-known  facts  in  Far  East- 
ern affairs. 

Japan  and  her  friends  assert  she  never  has  broken 
her  word ;  her  enemies  declare  she  is  sinister  and  not  to 
be  trusted.  Neither  statement  is  correct.  Her  methods 
may  sometimes  be  sinister,  but  no  one  who  follows  events 
in  the  Far  East  is  unaware  of  them,  and  Japan  has  taken 
no  pains  to  conceal  them.  Actions  speak  louder  than 
words.  But  has  Japan  actually  never  broken  her  word! 
We  have  already  referred  to  Korea,  whose  independence 
Japan  has  guaranteed  by  published  treaty.  During  the 
war  Japan  carried  out  the  requirements  of  the  Anglo- 
Japanese  Alliance,  but  Article  V  reads : 

The  High  Contracting  Parties  agree  that  neither  of  them  will,  with- 
out consulting  the  other,  enter  into  separate  arrangements  with  another 
Power  to  the  prejudice  of  the  objects  described  in  the  Preamble  of 
this  Agreement. 


368  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

Notwithstanding  this  clear  stipulation,  Japan  imme- 
diately after  capturing  Kiao-chau  from  Germany,  with- 
out consulting  Great  Britain  as  herein  provided,  issued 
the  Twenty-one  Demands  on  China.  Of  these  Group  V 
alone  would  have  made  a  vassal  state  of  China  had  she 
accepted  them.  Knowledge  of  these  were  kept  from 
Britain  completely,  but  when  they  finally  leaked  out, 
Japan  vociferously  denied  them.  Downing  Street  was  not 
pleased,  but  there  was  much  to  be  done  in  Europe  just 
then.  In  1918,  Japan  a  second  time  made  an  arrange- 
ment with  China  without  consulting  her  ally,  Great  Brit- 
ain. This  time  it  was  the  Sino-Japanese  Military  Agree- 
ment. At  the  moment  Russia  withdrew  from  the  war 
and  released  the  German  prisoners,  and  that  was  the 
excuse  for  imposing  combined  military  action  under  Jap- 
anese officers. 

As  though  this  were  not  enough,  when  the  success  of 
Germany  on  the  western  front  was  at  its  height,  Count 
Terauchi,  Prime  Minister  and  arch-plotter  in  China, 
came  out  with  a  statement  published  by  Mr.  Gregory 
Mason  of  the  "Outlook"  to  the  effect  that  it  was  not 
unlikely  that  some  understanding,  if  not  alliance,  might 
be  effected  between  Japan,  Russia  and  Germany.  And 
the  rumors  of  such  an  understanding  having  been  actu- 
ally arrived  at,  have  since  been  shown  to  have  had  just 
foundation. 

Furthermore,  since  1917,  according  to  "Millard's  Re- 
view" for  April,  1920,  Japan  has  lent  China  about  281,- 
543,762  yen  or  thereabouts,  privately,  for  political  and 
industrial  puposes,  for  reorganization,  railway  construc- 
tion, munitions,  canal  improvements,  flood  relief, 
wireless,  forestry,  war  participation,  and  other  under- 
takings. 

These  things  must  be  recalled  in  considering  the  new 
consortium,  as  they  show  what  led  up  to  its  final  con- 
summation. These  actions  of  Japan  indicate  encroach- 
ment upon  China  to  the  extent  of  virtually  closing  the 


THE  CONSORTIUM  369 

Open  Door.  In  this  regard,  the  alliance  has  had  a  dual 
effect:  while  it  makes  possible  for  Japan  to  go  as  far 
as  Britain  would  dare  go,  and  even  farther,  on  the  other 
hand  it  tends  to  keep  Japan  in  check.  Hence,  the  state 
of  mind  of  the  Japanese  on  the  subject  of  the  treaty 
has  been  contradictory.  They  have  regarded  its  renewal 
and  its  abrogation  with  about  equal  anxiety.  From  a 
moral  point  of  view,  they  dare  not  stand  alone  in  the 
world,  being  the  only  great  autocracy  remaining.  Con- 
scious of  their  power  and  twitching  under  the  restraint 
which  the  alliance  imposes,  yet  needing  its  support,  they 
are  trying  to  make  it  appear  that  Great  Britain  needs  it 
fully  as  much. 

As  far  as  Great  Britain  goes,  the  alliance  was  formed 
chiefly  to  guarantee  the  interests  of  the  empire,  but  also 
the  Open  Door  and  China's  integrity.  That  is,  that 
Japanese  Yen  and  British  Sovereigns  should  have  full 
freedom  to  go  to  China  to  earn  a  living.  Let  us  see  what 
the  various  treaties  and  understandings  purport  to  ac- 
complish. 

The  Anglo- Japanese  Alliance  assures  "The  preserva- 
tion of  the  common  interests  of  all  Powers  in  China  by 
insuring  the  independence  and  integrity  of  the  Chinese 
Empire  and  the  principle  of  equal  opportunities  for  the 
commerce  and  industry  of  all  nations  in  China." 

The  Eoot-Takahira  Understanding  declares:  "The 
Policy  of  both  Governments  [Japanese  and  American], 
uninfluenced  by  any  aggressive  tendencies,  is  directed 
to  the  maintenance  of  the  existing  Status  quo  in  the  re- 
gion above  mentioned  and  to  the  defense  of  the  principle 
of  equal  opportunity  for  commerce  and  industry  in 
China."  In  other  words,  without  an  alliance,  America 
has  secured  from  Japan  an  understanding  guaranteeing 
the  integrity  of  China  and  the  Open  Door  for  her  pet, 
the  Dollar.  Hence,  except  for  the  fact  that  it  made  no 
promises  to  the  effect,  "My  Ally,  right  or  wrong,  but 
still  my  ally,"  this  agreement  says  that  the  American 


370  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

Dollar  has  as  much  right  to  earn  a  living  in  China  as 
the  Yen  has. 

But  in  the  meantime  the  Yen  has  been  having  it  all  his 
own  way,  for  the  Sovereign  and  the  Franc  and  the  Dollar 
were  very  busy  doing  things  in  Europe.  And  in  good 
Oriental  fashion  the  Yen  has  been  breeding,  and  breed- 
ing rapidly.  He  was  going  to  China,  as  we  have  seen, 
by  the  million  and  keeping  China's  interests  and  integ- 
rity, which  all  had  guaranteed,  in  a  very  feverish  state, 
notwithstanding  alliances  and  agreements  born  and  in 
embryo. 

This,  at  bottom,  is  what  the  whole  Far  Eastern  prob- 
lem is, — all  of  the  governments  seeking  opportunities 
in  China  and  mutually  binding  and  barring  one  another 
from  aggression  and  concessions.  They  have  all  guar- 
anteed China's  " integrity,"  but  none,  except  America, 
has  actually  lived  up  to  the  agreement,  and  China's  in- 
tegrity is  rapidly  ceasing  to  be  an  integer. 

Now,  if  that  were  all  there  was  to  it,  debate  would  be 
childish,  but  integers,  like  the  atom,  are  not  easily  di- 
vided without  creating  something  new.  The  atom  be- 
comes on  electron;  and  the  integer,  when  a  nation, 
becomes  a  source  of  international  conflict.  Hence,  it  is 
of  the  utmost  importance  that  China  remain  an  integer. 
The  Anglo-Japanese  Alliance  has  failed  to  maintain 
China's  integrity.  The  Eoot-Takahira  Agreement  seemed 
to  cover  the  ground  well  enough,  but  that  it  was  not  suf- 
ficient is  proved  by  the  later  necessity  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Lansing  to  supplement  it  by  his  so-called  "  understand- 
ing" with  Viscount  Ishii.  However,  that  the  Ishii-Lan- 
sing  Agreement  is  loose  and  inadequate  was  obvious  on 
the  face  of  it  and  it  was  shown  to  be  absurd  when  the 
Consortium  Agreement  was  being  negotiated.  It  seems 
that  Secretary-of-State  Lansing,  realizing  that  his 
" agreement"  with  Ishii  was  being  translated  into  a  Mon- 
roe Doctrine  of  Asia,  as  it  was  never  intended  to  be, 
fostered  the  new  Consortium  Agreement  in  order  to 


THE  CONSORTIUM  371 

throw  a  ring  round  the  Ishii-Lansing  Agreement  and  de- 
fine its  limitations.  With  the  very  first  approach  the  pro- 
moters of  the  consortium  made  to  Japan,  Japan,  as  we 
have  seen,  began  eliminating  from  its  scope  everything 
that  propinquity  permitted,  threatening  not  only  the  con- 
sortium but  the  various  previous  agreements.  I  state 
these  facts  not  to  condemn  Japan,  but  to  delve  into  the 
psychology  of  the  powers  who,  at  the  Peace  Conference 
at  Versailles,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  only  solu- 
tion for  the  situation  in  the  Far  East  was  a  cooperative 
scheme.  They  must  be  borne  in  mind  in  order  to  under- 
stand why  Japan  withheld  from  concurring,  and  finally 
yielded. 

2 

America  was  viewing  all  this  with  no  little  apprehen- 
sion. Matters  in  the  Far  East  were  extremely  precarious 
at  the  time  she  entered  the  war.  It  was  in  order  to  reas- 
sure Japan  and  merely  as  a  restatement  of  issues  that  the 
Ishii-Lansing  Agreement  was  made.  Japan's  propin- 
quity was  recognized.  But  it  was  also  recognized  that 
the  Open  Door  was  being  walled  up.  Hence,  the  Ameri- 
can Government,  which  had  withdrawn  from  the  Sex- 
tuple Consortium,  suggested  that  a  new  consortium 
agreement  be  made  in  which  the  four  leading  powers 
take  equal  part.  These  powers  had  been  drawn  closer 
together  during  the  war,  and  that  concord  was  to  be  taken 
advantage  of  before  it  had  a  chance  to  dissipate. 

At  the  time  that  I  wrote  the  article  on  ''Lending 
Money  to  China"  for  the  "  World's  Work, "  August,  1920, 
the  whole  consortium  scheme  was  shrouded  in  mystery. 
Since  then  the  correspondence  that  took  place  between 
the  powers  has  in  part  been  published.  The  way  it  de- 
veloped is  worthy  of  being  outlined. 

The  American  bankers  had  been  asked  by  the  Govern- 
ment to  enter  the  proposed  consortium.  They  were  not 
over-enthusiastic  about  it,  for  at  the  time  they  felt  they 


372  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

had  enough  demand  at  home  and  in  Europe  for  such 
funds  as  they  could  command.  They  realized  that  at 
that  time  (July,  1918)  they  would  be  expected  to  carry, 
with  Japan,  both  England  and  France,  but  they  agreed 
that  "such  carrying  should  not  diminish  the  vitality  of 
the  membership  in  the  four-Power  group."  But  they 
did  stipulate  that 1 1  One  of  the  conditions  of  membership 
in  such  a  four-Power  group  should  be  that  there  should 
be  a  relinquishment  by  the  members  of  the  group  either 
to  China  or  to  the  group  of  any  options  to  make  loans 
which  they  now  hold,  and  all  loans  to  China  by  any  of 
them  should  be  considered  as  a  four-Power  group  busi- 
ness." 

Lansing  replied  to  the  bankers,  accepting  their  stipu- 
lations, obviously  his  main  intention  in  working  for  the 
consortium  being,  as  I  have  said,  to  encircle  the  problem 
with  a  view  to  defining  its  limitations  so  as  to  make  it 
impossible  for  Japan  to  interpret  his  agreement  with 
Ishii  too  broadly. 

These  communications  were  transmitted  to  the  Brit- 
ish Foreign  Office,  prompting  a  reply  from  Mr.  Balfour 
on  August  14,  1918,  wherein  he  inquired  whether  it  was 
the  intention  of  the  American  Government  to  enter  the 
$100,000,000  loan  to  China  for  currency  reform  which 
was  then  under  consideration  and  toward  which  Japan 
had  already  made  two  separate  advancements;  and 
whether  it  was  the  intention  of  the  United  States  to 
confine  activities  to  administrative  loans  or  to  include 
industrial  and  railway  enterprises  as  well.  Lord  Read- 
ing made  inquiry  of  the  State  Department  and  deter- 
mined that  both  types  of  loans  had  been  considered. 

It  is  obvious  from  these  communications  that  both 
Japan  and  Great  Britain  wished  to  retain  their  special 
interests  in  regard  to  the  existing  railway  and  industrial 
loans,  and  balked  at  their  being  pooled  with  those  of  the 
consortium.  But  England  was  ready  enough  from  the 
beginning  to  forego  these.  The  United  States  held 


THE  CONSORTIUM  373 

"that  industrial  as  well  as  administrative  loans  should 
be  included  in  the  new  arrangement,  for  the  reason  that, 
in  practice,  the  line  of  demarcation  between  those  va- 
rious classes  of  loans  often  is  not  easy  to  draw. ' ' 

Everything  went  along  smoothly  until  Japan  was  con- 
sulted, and  then  it  was  found  that  while  she  was  willing 
enough  to  enter  into  a  consortium  for  the  whole  of  China, 
she  was  emphatically  unwilling  to  have  Manchuria  and 
Mongolia  included.  From  the  very  beginning,  the  Ameri- 
can, British,  and  French  banking-groups  and  govern- 
ments most  decidedly  refused  to  accede  to  Japan's 
demands  in  this  matter,  declaring  that  such  a  rendering 
would  simply  open  up  the  sores  of  spheres-of-interests 
and  concession-hunting,  and  completely  nullify  the  pur- 
poses and  intentions  of  the  consortium.  The  Japanese 
argument  is  amusing.  When  Japan  first  encroached  upon 
Manchuria  and  Mongolia,  it  was  because  of  danger  to  her 
safety  from  Czarist  Russia,  Now  she  was  face  to  face 
with  Bolshevist  Russia,  and  she  trembled  for  her  safety 
in  these  terms : 

Furthermore,  the  recent  development  of  the  Russian  situation,  exer- 
cising as  it  does  an  unwholesome  influence  upon  the  Far  East,  is  a 
matter  of  grave  concern  to  Japan;  in  fact,  the  conditions  in  Siberia, 
which  have  been  developing  with  such  alarming  precipitancy  of  late, 
are  by  no  means  far  from  giving  rise  to  a  most  serious  situation,  which 
may  at  any  time  take  a  turn  threatening  the  safety  of  Japan  and  the 
peace  of  the  Far  East,  and  ultimately  place  the  entire  Eastern  Asia 
at  the  mercy  of  the  dangerous  activities  of  extremist  forces.  Having 
regard  to  these  signals  of  the  imminent  character  of  the  situation,  the 
Japanese  Government  all  the  more  keenly  feel  the  need  of  adopting 
measures  calculated  to  avert  any  such  danger  in  the  interest  of  the 
Far  East  as  well  as  of  Japan.  Now,  South  Manchuria  and  Mongolia 
are  the  gate  by  which  this  direful  influence  may  effect  its  penetration 
into  Japan  and  the  Far  East  to  the  instant  menace  of  their  security. 
The  Japanese  Government  are  convinced  that,  having  regard  to  the 
vital  interests  which  Japan,  as  distinct  from  the  other  Powers,  has  in 
the  regions  of  South  Manchuria  and  Mongolia,  the  British  Government 
will  appreciate  the  circumstances  which  compelled  the  Japanese  Gov- 
ernment to  make  a  special  and  legitimate  reservation  indispensable  to 
the  existence  of  the  state  and  its  people.  .  .  . 

The  utter  fallacy  of  this  is  obvious.  The  consortium  was 
not  a  miracle-worker.  Its  efforts  would  necessarily  ex- 


374  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

tend  over  a  series  of  years;  its  principals  were  as  op- 
posed to  Bolshevism  as  Japan  was.  But  there  was  Japan, 
— bureaucratic,  imperialistic  Japan, — shedding  tears 
over  the  prospect  of  what  might  happen  to  her  people 
from  Bolshevism  if  the  consortium  were  permitted  to 
take  a  share  in  the  development  of  Manchuria  and  Mon- 
golia,— to  which  she  has  no  right  other  than  that  of  her 
might. 

No  pressure  such  as  could  be  said  to  be  in  the  nature  of 
an  ultimatum  to  join  the  consortium  was  exerted,  of 
course,  but  it  was  obvious  that  unless  Japan  withdrew 
her  objections  the  consortium  would  not  materialize. 
Japan  made  an  effort  to  get  the  other  powers  to  make 
some  written  statement  or  accept  her  formula  securing 
to  her  these  special  rights ;  but  the  others  were  adamant. 
Japan  specified  just  what  she  feared, — the  construction 
of  other  railroads. 

The  United  States  replied: 

The  American  Government  cannot  but  acknowledge,  however,  its 
grave  disappointment  that  the  formula  proffered  by  the  Japanese  Gov- 
ernment is  in  terms  so  exceedingly  ambiguous  and  in  character  so 
irrevocable  that  it  might  be  held  to  indicate  a  continued  desire  on  the 
part  of  the  Japanese  Government  to  exclude  the  American,  British, 
and  French  banking  groups  from  participation  in  the  development, 
for  the  benefit  of  China,  of  important  parts  of  that  republic,  a  con- 
struction which  could  not  be  reconciled  with  the  principle  of  the  inde- 
pendence and  territorial  integrity  of  China. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  all  these  communica- 
tions, the  Japanese  Government  is  constantly  referring 
to  its  own  special  interests  and  dangers,  whereas  the 
others  repeat  and  repeat  their  concern  for  the  integrity 
of  China.  It  may  be,  after  all,  that  the  Japanese  Gov- 
ernment is  the  more  honest,  though  America's  stand  is 
unchallengeable. 

I  have  dwelt  sufficiently,  I  believe,  with  the  emana- 
tions from  behind  departmental  doors.  The  human  ele- 
ments are  much  more  interesting.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
Japan  held  out  for  a  long,  long  time,  and  things  seemed 
hopeless.  At  last,  after  an  understanding  with  all  those 


THE  CONSORTIUM  375 

concerned  outside  Japan,  Mr.  Thomas  W.  Lament  went 
to  the  Far  East  as  spokesman  for  the  other  powers,  to 
carry  on  negotiations  with  Japan. 

Unfortunately — whether  by  design  or  not  I  have  no 
way  of  telling — an  American  business  mission  also  went 
to  Japan  at  that  time,  upon  the  invitation  of  Baron  Shi- 
busawa,  popularly  known  as  the  ''Schwab  of  Japan." 
Everybody  got  these  two  parties  mixed,  but  I  have  since 
been  very  earnestly  assured  that  Mr.  Frank  A.  Vander- 
lip,  who  headed  the  business  mission,  had  nothing  what- 
ever to  do  with  Mr.  Lamont 's  mission.  Be  that  as  it  may, 
it  was  certain  even  from  the  twin-reports  that  while  the 
business  mission  was  being  lavishly  entertained,  Mr. 
Lamont  was  seeing  all  that  he  wanted  to  see,  and  saying 
all  that  he  wanted  to  say.  The  mission  was  discussing 
with  Junnosuke  Inouye,  Governor  of  the  Bank  of  Japan, 
and  Baron  Shibusawa,  and  others  such  questions  as  Jap- 
anese immigration,  the  Shantung  situation,  the  invasion 
of  Siberia,  and  the  submarine  cables.  All  that  the  world 
at  large  got  as  to  the  decisions  arrived  at  was  the  fact 
that  views  were  exchanged  in  a  friendly  manner,  and 
some  delightfully  amusing  articles  from  the  pen  of  Julian 
Street  who  was  the  scribe  of  the  occasion. 

In  the  meantime,  Lamont,  who  seems  to  be  a  man  for 
whom  a  dinner  has  little  attraction,  left  the  impression 
on  the  Japanese  Government  that  Japan  and  Japan 
alone  would  lose  by  holding  back.  When  he  left  Japan, 
to  go  to  China,  the  Japanese  Government  was  still  de- 
termined on  securing  from  the  powers  exemption  for 
Manchuria  and  Mongolia. 

But  a  series  of  subsequent  events  helped  Japan  to 
make  up  her  mind.  First  and  foremost  among  these 
was  the  financial  slump  in  Japan,  which  was  seriously 
embarrassing.  This  was  followed  by  financial  strin- 
gency in  Manchuria  and  the  eagerness  of  the  directors 
of  the  South  Manchurian  Railway, — who  are  at  present 
involved  in  a  far-reaching  scandal  for  a  loan  which  could 


376  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

not  be  floated  in  Japan  and  which  was  sought  in  America. 
Third,  as  either  cause  or  effect,  was  the  situation  in 
China.  China,  on  account  of  Japan's  courtship  of  the 
Peking  militarists  and  the  rape  of  Shantung,  had  insti- 
tuted a  boycott  of  Japanese  goods  the  bitterness  and 
force  of  which  Japan  had  learned  to  respect.  These 
circumstances  alone  might  have  been  enough  to  drive 
a  nation  to  desperation ;  but  a  sensitive  nation  like  Japan 
would  suffer  these  things  a  thousand  times  over  in 
silence.  One  thing  Japan  cannot  stand,  and  that  is  the 
distrust  of  the  world. 

And  the  Lamont  party  found  from  the  moment  it  left 
Nagasaki  for  China  until  the  moment  it  set  foot  again  in 
Shimonoseki  on  its  return  that  there  was  not  a  white 
man  nor  a  yellow  man  who  had  a  good  word  to  say  for 
Japan.  Japan  was  an  isolated  country  socially, — iso- 
lated a  thousand  times  more  definitely  than  she  is  geo- 
graphically. And  the  good  sense  of  the  Japanese  has 
brought  them  to  a  realization  that  that  does  not  pay. 
Japan  wants  the  good-will  of  the  world,  and  she  wants 
it  sorely. 

When  Mr.  Lamont  arrived  in  China  he  did  not  find  the 
same  atmosphere  he  had  found  in  Japan.  The  fact  that 
he  had  been  in  Japan  first  added  to  the  suspicions  of 
the  Chinese.  They  had  many  things  to  ponder  over  and 
be  suspicious  about.  China  remembered  the  processes  of 
westernization  which  she  had  had  to  answer  with  the 
Boxer  Uprising  in  1900.  But  China  has  never  forgotten 
the  return  of  the  Boxer  indemnity  by  the  United  States. 

In  Peking  some  students  threatened  to  stone  the  hotel 
at  which  Mr.  Lamont  stopped.  A  few  came  as  special 
representatives  of  the  student  body,  according  to  one 
report,  and  quizzed  Mr.  Lamont  for  two  hours.  They 
left  apparently  satisfied.  Their  strong  plea  was  that  no 
loans  be  made  to  the  Government  until  peace  between 
North  and  South  was  established. 


THE  CONSORTIUM  377 

The  press  of  China  and  the  people  of  China  were  di- 
vided. Some  of  the  Japanese,  who  owned  papers  in 
China,  sought  to  alienate  the  sympathy  of  the  Chinese 
for  America;  some  tried  other  tactics.  The  Chinese 
militarists  in  Peking  who  had  tasted  of  the  flesh-pots  of 
Nippon  were  not  over-anxious  to  put  themselves  on  a 
diet.  Chinese  patriots  saw  in  the  new  consortium  a  rope 
of  a  different  fiber.  The  consortium  party  found  itself 
double-crossed  by  obvious  agencies. 

In  a  measure  this  was  justified  all  the  way  round,  for 
the  undertaking  was  shrouded  in  secrecy  on  many  points 
which  could  not  but  discredit  it  in  the  eyes  of  many. 
Perhaps  this  was  unavoidable,  but  it  was  none  the  less 
natural  that  China  should  be  wary.  In  her  own  sort 
of  way,  China  was  taking  inventory.  The  last  loan  of 
$125,000,000  only  arrived  in  China  as  $104,851,840  after 
deductions  for  underwriting  had  been  paid.  And  before 
the  sum  can  be  paid  off,  it  will  have  cost  China  $235,- 
768,105  by  way  of  interest  and  commissions.  And  China 
knows  that  only  a  small  part  of  this  tremendous  sum  had 
gone  into  actual  constructive  work. 

Yet  China  needs  assistance.  Railroads  are  the  world's 
salvation  and  China's  crying  need.  But  for  lack  of  rail- 
roads, China  would  to-day  be  the  most  powerful  nation  on 
earth,  financially  and  politically.  And  the  fact  that  her 
railroads  are  short  while  those  of  other  countries  are 
long  makes  of  her  a  prey  to  those  tentacles  of  trade 
against  which  she  is  helpless.  China  has  to-day  only 
about  6,500  miles  of  railroad:  she  needs  100,000.  She 
who  built  the  rambling  wall  has  still  only  foot-paths. 
She  needs  100,000  miles  of  highway.  Her  canals,  which 
a  thousand  years  ago  kept  the  country  open  to  trade  and 
partially  free  from  famine,  have  fallen  into  disrepair. 
She  needs  telegraphs,  telephones,  wireless.  If  only  the 
money  she  borrowed  went  into  such  enterprises  China 
would  repay  the  world  a  thousandfold. 


378  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

It  was  therefore  natural  that  China  should  be  sus- 
picious, and  likewise  natural  that  she  should  be  willing 
to  be  convinced.  What  young  China  wanted  most  was 
definite  and  outspoken  assurance  that  her  integrity  as  a 
nation  would  not  be  jeopardized. 

The  leading  Chinese  newspapers  expressed  their  grati- 
tude at  repeated  assurances  of  due  respect  being  given 
to  Chinese  public  opinion  and  promises  to  refrain  from 
interfering  in  her  internal  affairs.  But  others,  like  the 
China  " Times,"  said: 

The  British  plan  to  control  our  railroads  jointly,  and  the  American 
plan  is  to  monopolize  our  industries  jointly,  while  the  Japanese  plan 
to  monopolize  all  our  railroads,  mines,  forestry,  and  industries.  Any 
one  of  these  plans  will  put  our  destiny  in  their  hands. 

It  also  declared:  "Although  it  has  been  reported  that 
Japan  will  make  certain  compromises,  it  is  hard  to  say 
to  what  extent  these  will  go." 

To  this  Mr.  Lament  said:  "It  now  remains  for  the 
Japanese  Government  formally  to  confirm  this  desire 
[of  the  bankers  to  join].  If  they  fail  to  do  so  and  if 
Japan  remains  outside  the  consortium,  I  should  think 
that  Japan  might  prove  to  be  the  chief  loser."  He  next 
made  it  clear  to  China  that  she  would  first  have  to  es- 
tablish peace  if  she  is  to  be  helped.  Aside  from  the 
reorganization  of  the  currency,  the  consortium  is  going 
to  see  to  it  that  a  sufficiently  safe  audit  system  is  estab- 
lished, so  that  it  will  be  sure  that  all  loan  expenditures 
go  as  far  as  they  should  into  the  properties  themselves. 
Further,  the  Chinese  Government,  in  order  to  save  some 
cash,  refused  to  pay  on  certain  bearer  bonds  which  had 
come  back  rather  curiously.  These  were  formerly  Ger- 
man property  bonds  on  the  Hukuan  Railway  loan  which 
Germany  had  evidently  sold  off  before  the  war.  They 
had  now  come  back  by  way  of  England  and  America. 
The  Chinese  Government  wanted  proof  of  transference 
on  bearer  bonds.  Mr.  Lamont  pointed  out  to  them  that 
this  action  would  totally  discredit  them  and  that  the 
ability  to  secure  further  investments  would  be  very  slim 


THE  CONSORTIUM  379 

unless  these  were  redeemed.  Mr.  Lament  then  returned 
to  Japan. 

Then  it  became  known  that  the  Japanese  Government 
had  finally  given  its  consent.  In  Japan,  opinion  ranged 
from  imperialistic  chauvinism  to  liberal  recognition  of 
the  consortium  as  a  way  out  of  the  mess.  On  May  11 
things  came  to  a  head.  Mr.  Lamont  stated  on  his  return 
to  America  that: 

The  fact  that  Japan  has  come  into  the  Consortium  for  China  without 
reservations  should  be  made  clear.  The  agreement  that  the  Japanese 
banking  group  with  the  approval  of  its  government,  signed  at  Tokio, 
leaves  nothing  to  be  desired  on  this  point;  but  in  Japan,  while  there 
was  perfect  readiness  by  all  authorities  to  announce  that  an  under- 
standing had  been  reached,  there  seems  to  be  some  reluctance  to  make 
public  any  statement  that  the  Japanese  Government  had  withdrawn 
its  reservations  as  to  Manchuria  and  Mongolia.  It  is  only  fair,  there- 
fore, that  every  member  of  the  American  banking  group  and  American 
investors  generally  should  clearly  understand  the  facts. 

Still  Viscount  Uchida,  the  Foreign  Minister,  insisted : 

While  other  powers  can  afford  to  regard  the  new  Consortium  solely 
as  a  business  matter  Japan  is  otherwise  situated,  since  her  vital  na- 
tional interests,  such  as  national  defense  and  economic  existence,  are 
apt  to  be  involved  in  enterprises  near  her  border.  When  the  three 
other  governments  expressly  declared  to  Japan  that  they  not  only  did 
not  contemplate  acts  inimical  to  her  vital  interests  but  were  ready  to 
give  assurance  sufficiently  safeguarding  them,  the  Japanese  Government 
decided  to  confirm  the  Paris  agreement. 

What  Japan  expected  the  powers  to  say  other  than  just 
that  is  a  matter  for  diplomats  to  play  with.  To  the 
common  person  this  statement  is  absolutely  meaningless. 
It  is  a  generalization  which  leaves  the  door  open  for 
Japan  to  object  to  loans  for  any  work  which  she  feels 
will  jeopardize  her  national  life  or  vitally  affect  her ' '  sov- 
ereignty." Any  railroad  scheme  which  might  become 
a  competitor  by  diverting  freight  from  Manchurian  lines 
owned  by  Japan  would  be  a  menace  to  Japan's  sover- 
eignty. 

For  instance,  it  seems  understood  that  among  these 
vital  interests  are  certain  loans  to  Chinese  capitalists 
and  corporations.  And  doubtless  Japan  would  right 


380  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

now  much  rather  have  the  millions  which  she  has  sunk  in 
China  in  her  own  hands.  But  if  these  loans  are  recog- 
nized, what  guarantee  is  there  that  even  under  the  nose 
of  the  consortium  further  " loans"  will  not  be  made? 

Is  it  likely  that  Japan  will  relinquish  her  hold  on  the 
South  Manchurian  Railroad,  which  in  her  opinion  is  of 
strategic  importance?  If  the  consortium  is  to  have  no 
say  in  such  vested  interests,  obtained  before  its  conclu- 
sion, how  is  it  going  to  secure  itself  against  these  very 
interests  being  used  as  a  means  of  breaking  up  the  unity 
of  the  cooperative  enterprises?  How  is  so  sweeping  a 
clause  going  to  be  kept  within  bonds?  If  Japan  is  left 
in  full  control  of  the  Manchurian  railways,  if  the  con- 
sortium has  not  really  dissolved  the  Sino-Japanese  Mil- 
itary Agreement,  if  Japan  is  to  control  the  German-built 
railways  in  Shantung,  how  is  the  consortium  going  to 
better  things  in  the  Far  East?  There  is  altogether  too 
much  silence  on  many  points  in  the  consortium  project 
for  the  world  to  have  any  real  assurance.  Secret  di- 
plomacy having  been  discredited,  it  seems  that  bankers 
have  themselves  broken  into  diplomacy.  Of  course,  in- 
dividuals have  a  perfect  right  in  this  modern  world  to 
discuss  whatever  matters  they  like, — and  governments, 
too,  for  that  matter, — but  it  should  seem  that  the  people 
as  a  whole  whose  money,  whose  happiness,  and  whose 
lives  are  involved  have  a  right  to  know  to  the  last  detail 
what  has  been  traded  off  in  the  making  of  the  consortium. 
China  evidently  was  placated  by  Lamont  with  full  ex- 
planations of  what  the  consortium  intended.  In  brief  it 
was  this: 

The  agreement  calls  for  the  pooling  of  all  such  in- 
terests of  the  several  powers  in  China  as  had  not  been 
already  developed  separately,  in  a  "full  and  free  part- 
nership." In  this  way  it  is  hoped  that  future  spheres 
of  influence  will  be  eliminated,  jealousies  between  the 
powers  be  done  away  with,  and  Chinese  grafters  be  pre- 


THE  CONSORTIUM  381 

vented  from  pitting  one  power  against  the  other  for  their 
own  selfish  ends.  Chinese  complain  that  now  they  will 
not  be  able  to  secure  loans  on  a  competitive  basis  and  that 
therefore  they  are  being  more  surely  strangled.  That 
is  partially  true.  But  it  is  also  true  that  corrupt  Chinese 
officials  have  been  keeping  China  and  the  world  in  turmoil 
for  their  own  greedy  ends.  Both  of  these  things  must 
be  stopped  if  peace  is  to  obtain  in  the  Pacific. 

The  guarantees  given  to  China  were  to  the  effect  that 
in  no  circumstances  would  the  consortium  undertake 
such  private  enterprises  as  banking,  manufacturing,  or 
commerce,  but  would  devote  itself  entirely  to  the  con- 
struction of  railroads,  the  laying  of  highways,  and  the 
reorganization  of  China's  currency.  The  consortium  was 
to  make  loans  to  the  central  or  provincial  government 
only,  but  as  a  condition  of  their  advancement,  peace  be- 
tween the  North  and  South  was  urged.  The  consortium 
was  not  to  interfere  in  the  domestic  affairs  of  China. 
Loans  were  to  be  made  only  with  the  approval  of  the 
governments  behind  the  bankers.  Nor,  of  course,  can 
you  compel  any  one  to  borrow  money  from  you,  wherein 
China  has  the  whip  hand.  Herein  lies  a  very  important 
possibility. 

China  has  plenty  of  money.  Its  bankers  hoard  enough 
to  clean  up  the  country's  debts  in  no  time.  But  they 
cannot  trust  their  governmental  officials;  they  never 
have  trusted  them.  But  just  lately  these  bankers  have 
been  awakening  to  the  wisdom  of  foreign  financial 
methods,  and  are  adopting  them.  This  may  be  the  first 
good  result  of  the  consortium. 

On  the  other  hand,  should  the  terms  of  the  Anglo- 
Japanese  Alliance  displease  China,  she  may  refuse  to 
recognize  the  consortium.  What  then?  China  has  set 
out  to  strangle  the  alliance,  which  was  formed  without 
consulting  her.  But  we  speculated  enough  in  the  last 
chapter  to  show  that  should  the  consortium  really  work, 


382  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

the  Anglo-Japanese  Alliance  would  cease  to  have  any 
functional  value. 

But  there  are  dangers  in  the  consortium, — and  even 
in  the  cooperative  development  of  China.  If  Japan 
joins  whole-heartedly  in  the  consortium,  she  may  be  the 
greatest  gainer.  For  here  are  all  the  powers  mutually 
developing  China,  laying  railways,  and  opening  up  the 
resources  of  the  country.  Who,  more  than  Japan,  is 
going  to  tap  China's  unlimited  raw  supplies, — the  coal 
in  Shansi,  for  instance,  which  is  enough  to  supply  the 
world's  needs  for  a  thousand  years'?  And  should  Japan 
in  the  end  still  seek  the  hegemony  of  the  East,  she  could 
utilize  these  railroads  and  resources  for  her  own  ag- 
grandizement. Who  could  stop  her?  Have  not  the  sep- 
arate governments  given  Japan  their  assurance  that  she 
"need  have  no  reason  to  apprehend  that  the  consortium 
would  direct  any  activities  affecting  the  security  of  the 
economic  life  and  national  defense  of  Japan?" 

There  is,  it  is  said,  only  little  left  to  be  told,  but  that 
little  may  be  more  than  enough.  But  if  China  is  really 
helped  to  strength  and  independence,  then  the  greatest 
menace  that  has  ever  faced  mankind  will  have  been 
averted,  and  China,  a  country  with  the  oldest  culture  in 
the  world,  will  have  been  won  back  to  civilization.  Not 
in  emasculated  alliances  but  in  a  healthy  cooperation  will 
the  peace  of  the  Pacific  be  preserved.  And  the  consor- 
tium, as  things  are  in  the  world,  is  the  first  example  of 
international  good  sense  known  to  modern  history. 

Now,  the  Consortium  Agreement  is  not  an  idealistic 
scheme.  The  powers  recognize  that  the  future  peace  of 
the  world  depends  on  how  they  manage  their  affairs  in 
China.  If  the  consortium  throws  all  secrecy  to  the  winds 
and  comes  out  openly  and  at  all  times  for  the  principles 
on  which  it  was  formed  and  for  which  the  several  govern- 
ments have  guaranteed  their  protection  to  these  banking- 
groups,  what  use  is  there  going  to  be  for  the  alliance? 
Perhaps,  to  paraphrase  President  Wilson 's  statement 


THE  CONSORTIUM  383 

when  he  went  across  the  Atlantic  with  his  challenge  for 
the  freedom  of  the  seas,  Great  Britain  and  Japan  may 
now  have  to  say  to  the  world:  "Gentlemen,  the  joke  's 
on  us.  Why,  if  the  consortium  works  in  China  there  is 
going  to  be  no  need  of  an  alliance!" 


*>•&  CHAPTER  XXIV 

TJNCHAETED  SEAS 

WE  have  taken  a  long  journey  together.  The  main 
routes  along  the  Pacific  which  are  the  highways 
of  our  past  and  future  intercourse  have  been  inspected. 
But  the  great  Pacific  basin  is  not  yet  everywhere  safe 
for  navigation.  There  is,  I  understand,  a  scientific  ex- 
pedition now  at  work  thoroughly  charting  every  inch 
of  that  wonderful  watery  waste.  There  is,  I  know,  a 
scientific  body  under  the  directorship  of  Professor 
Gregory  of  Yale  for  the  thorough  research  of  ethnologi- 
cal materials  among  the  races  of  the  Pacific.  But  aside 
from  the  efforts  of  individuals,  politically  and  socially 
and  hygienically,  there  is  nothing  going  on  to  bind  the 
peoples  together.  I  had  nearly  forgotten  that  a  year 
ago  we  did  send  out  a  political  expedition  to  the  Far 
East,  a  Congressional  expedition  which  spent  four  days 
in  Japan  and,  I  daresay,  a  week  in  China.  Otherwise, 
we  are  still  at  the  mercy  of  individual  scribes,  who,  like 
myself,  have  their  own  points  of  view,  their  own  motives, 
and  their  own  reactions. 

For  years  I  have  read  religiously  every  interview  re- 
ported in  the  press,  with  spokesmen  for  one  country  or 
the  other  on  the  Pacific.  The  mass  of  clippings  I  have 
accumulated  I  have  time  and  again  sifted  carefully  for 
some  word  or  sign  that  might  indicate  the  real  problem. 
But  I  have  failed  to  find  any.  I  cannot  lay  the  responsi- 
bility on  the  press.  It  rests  with  the  individuals  who 
have  been  asked  to  give  their  opinions.  But  as  far  as 
substance  goes,  they  may  all  best  be  illustrated  by  a  sen- 
tence from  the  speech  of  Viscount  Uchida,  the  Minister 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  delivered  before  the  Imperial  Diet. 
I  have  the  speech  as  it  came  to  me  from  the  East  and 

384 


UNCHARTED  SEAS  385 

West  News  Bureau.  The  sentence  I  have  selected,  for 
the  translation  of  which  the  Viscount  is  of  course  not  re- 
sponsible, is  this:  "It  is  true  that  this  friendly  relation- 
ship is  not  without  an  occasional  mingling  of  incidents ; 
that  is  almost  inevitable  in  any  international  relations. ' ' 
All  speeches  such  as  these  are  remarkably  free  from 
definition.  Speech  after  speech  is  reported,  all  plead 
for  understanding,  but  in  none  of  these  is  any  basis  for 
understanding  given.  Sentiment  will  not  dissolve  inter- 
national suspicion. 

Bight  here  I  should  like  to  make  it  clear  that  Japan  is 
not  the  only  nation  that  is  being  maligned,  as  some  would 
have  us  believe.  Exclusion  is  practised  not  against 
Japan  alone,  though  in  other  cases  it  is  practised  in  a  dif- 
ferent manner.  The  Honolulu  Chamber  of  Commerce 
excludes  white  men  from  entering  its  sacred  sanctums 
nearly  as  much.  Unless  you  are  approved  by  the  cham- 
ber, you  will  find  it  very  difficult  to  take  up  a  profession. 
As  I  look  back  over  my  years  of  wandering  in  the  farther- 
most reaches  of  the  Pacific  I  recall  incident  after  incident 
that  is  indicative  of  what  is  toward. 

Wherever  competition  is  rife,  the  competitors  lay 
themselves  out  to  be  courteous  and  friendly,  but  in  the 
long  runs  that  dissect  the  waters  of  that  ocean,  so  se- 
cure have  many  of  the  steamship  companies  felt  that 
decency  has  frequently  been  forgotten.  The  careless- 
ness of  the  rights  of  the  unhappy  voyager  who  merely 
pays  for  a  privilege  on  the  Union  Steamship  Company 
is  not  conducive  to  international  good  feeling.  The  lack 
of  common  courtesy  on  the  part  of  many  of  the  employees 
of  this  company  is  proverbial  even  among  the  Britons  in 
Australasia.  Peoples  in  the  goings  and  comings  gain 
their  impressions  of  countries  very  often  from  such 
samples  as  are  forced  upon  their  attention  en  route. 
And  over  the  bars  in  the  distant  lands  compatriots  give 
vent  to  recriminations  of  the  compatriots  of  other  na- 
tions in  a  manner  not  flattering  to  either. 


386  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

One  of  the  most  unfortunate  features  of  the  whole 
problem  of  the  Pacific  is  that  only  too  often  the  men  who 
are  accountable  for  the  most  serious  sources  of  dislike 
are  men  who  at  home  would  be  kept  in  check  by  a  healthy 
fear  of  social  ostracism.  But  once  a  white  man  enters 
trade  in  an  Oriental  port  as  a  clerk  or  salesman,  he 
seems  to  consider  it  his  bounden  duty  as  a  representative 
of  his  country  to  run  down  the  natives  as  viciously  as 
he  dare.  I  have  seen  white  men  who  at  home  would  hold 
their  tongues  lest  they  offend  some  decent  woman's  ears 
with  their  vile  language  assume  an  air  of  superiority 
toward  the  men  amongst  whom  they  are  living  that  is 
certainly  not  conducive  to  international  amity.  I  have 
heard  them  express  a  longing  for  a  chance  some  day  to 
come  back  and  "lick"  these  natives  that,  considering  the 
human  sufferings  involved,  is  at  the  very  depths  of 
unrighteousness. 

Nor  is  this  feeling  directed  against  Orientals  only.  I 
have  heard  serious  statements  from  Americans  against 
the  British  that  are  not  only  unjustifiable  but  astounding. 
And  the  British  themselves  maintain  a  lordly  superiority 
to  all  others.  The  boast  that  "the  sun  never  sets  on 
English  soil"  is  illustrative  of  a  certain  provincialism 
among  Britons  that  is  not  healthful  from  an  international 
outlook.  Britons  generally  take  such  routes  hither  and 
thither  as  leave  them  always  within  the  British  Empire, 
and  the  result  is  a  dull  point  of  view  with  regard  to  for- 
eign lands.  To  be  regarded  as  a  foreigner  is  a  source  of 
great  irritation  to  a  Briton;  he  cannot  stand  this  "slur" 
when  passing  through  America.  Even  within  the  British 
dominions  themselves  there  are  childish  prides  that  make 
understanding  impossible, — the  New  Zealander  being 
against  the  Australian  and  both  against  everybody  else. 

These  antagonisms  more  than  all  else  are  at  the  bottom 
of  the  confusion  obtaining  to-day  in  the  Pacific.  Their 
utter  folly  and  futility  are  simply  suicidal.  Were  it  not 
better  that  we  study  carefully  the  social  and  political 


UNCHARTED  SEAS  387 

ideals  of  every  race  on  the  Pacific  and  see  in  what  man- 
ner such  changes  may  be  effected  as  will  preclude  con- 
flict? Is  not  America's  preeminence  in  the  Pacific  to- 
day due  to  her  return  of  the  Boxer  indemnity,  to  her 
attempt  at  winning  the  sympathy  of  the  Filipino,  to  her 
friendship  for  China  t  Cannot  the  sympathy  and  the 
emulation  of  races  supplant  their  enmity  and  jealousy! 
In  the  manner  in  which  the  various  peoples  of  the  Pacific 
turn  to  their  problems  lies  permanent  peace.  There  is 
already  a  considerable  veering  round  of  national  con- 
ceptions toward  the  recognition  of  our  common  welfare 
being  dependent  on  mutual  development,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  consortium. 

One  gets  tired  of  the  perennial  expressions  of  felicita- 
tion of  the  "leaders"  of  states,  of  the  sentimental  bal- 
derdash which  emanates  from  international  "functions" 
of  the  world's  "best"  people,  who  don  one  another's 
garments  and  pledge  one  another  eternal  affection,  of 
those  who  assure  us  that  the  fact  that  one  nation  has 
placed  with  "us"  an  order  for  the  latest  type  of  elec- 
trically driven  super-dreadnaught  indicates  the  love  and 
fellowship  obtaining  between  us.  Only  four  years  ago, 
Viscount  Bryce  admitted  that  "Most  of  us,  however, 
know  so  little  about  the  island  groups  of  the  Pacific,  ex- 
cept from  missionary  narratives  and  from  romances, 
like  those  of  Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  that  the  recent  ac- 
tion of  the  white  peoples  in  the  islands  is  practically  a 
new  subject,  and  one  which  well  deserves  to  be  dealt 
with."  And  despite  all  those  speeches,  despite  all  the  in- 
ternational societies — that  exist,  it  seems,  only  to  en- 
tertain celebrities,  not  to  uncover  misunderstandings 
that  they  may  truly  be  corrected — real  irritation  comes 
from  the  average  man's  notions,  and  to  him  should  at- 
tention be  directed. 

Those  vast  spaces  to  which  Viscount  Bryce  referred, 
once  regarded  with  such  awe,  are  now  criss-crossed  with 
a  veritable  network  of  steamers.  They  have  made  short 


388  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

shrift  of  the  distances  between  the  East  and  the  West. 
We  may  invite  one  another  across  for  week-ends,  but 
not  necessarily  for  life,  and  the  impressions  each  brings 
away  with  him  will  go  toward  making  up  the  sum  total 
of  what  is  going  to  be  the  thought  of  the  Pacific.  Are 
we  to  navalize  the  Pacific  or  to  civilize  it?  Are  we  to 
convert  every  projecting  rock  into  a  menace,  or  are  we 
to  be  honest  navigators  exposing  every  treacherous 
island  for  the  safety  of  all  races?  Are  we  to  scramble 
for  interests  in  the  Pacific,  or  are  we  to  help  races  there 
to  rise  to  strength  and  independence,  so  that  each  will  be 
a  healthy  buffer  against  aggression?  The  "Valor  of 
Ignorance"  is  not  to  be  met  with  the  blindness  of  force. 

I  sought  to  obtain  a  bit  of  information  once  from  a  dis- 
penser of  "understanding"  located  in  New  York,  but 
he  tried  to  lead  me  off  the  scent.  It  was  not,  he  feared, 
to  his  country's  credit  that  such  and  such  facts  be  known. 
He  was  very  sensitive,  and  gave  me  no  assistance.  This 
covering  up  of  our  weaknesses  before  the  eyes  of  our 
neighbors  is  certain  to  lead  to  disaster.  This  putting 
our  best  foot  forward,  only  to  have  the  other  ready  for 
a  nasty  kick,  is  not  going  to  bring  about  amity.  If 
there  is  an  ideal  worthy  of  emulation  in  any  race  in  the 
Pacific,  we  ought  to  know  and  honor  it.  If  there  is  a 
sore  which  needs  scientific  political  treatment,  let  us 
attend  to  it.  Our  problems  are  well  defined,  if  we  will 
but  look  for  them;  our  obligations  are  clear,  if  we  will 
but  undertake  them  courageously. 

We  are  not  going  to  solve  our  problems  as  we  did  with 
the  coming  of  Japan  into  the  range  of  the  world, — by 
adulation.  To-day  we  are  suffering  from  the  effects 
of  having  made  the  Japanese  feel  that  they  are  perfect 
and  to  be  adored.  The  problem  is  one  of  unadulterated 
education,  of  education  in  the  simple  arts  of  self-support 
among  the  primitive  people,  and  self-government  among 
the  more  advanced. 

But  if  our  efforts  are  to  be  fruitful  we  must  avoid 


UNCHARTED  SEAS  389 

abstract  education  which  leads  to  hair-splitting.  It  is 
to  be  education  in  the  fundamentals, — education  in  the 
use  of  hands  and  brain  for  self-support  and  mutual  hap- 
piness founded  on  justice.  It  is  to  be  education  of  our- 
selves as  well  as,  of  those  we  wish  to  elevate. 

But  the  problem  is  even  deeper  than  that.  Merely 
elevating  other  races  will  not  preclude  conflict.  Ger- 
many was  well  educated  and  on  a  level  with,  if  not  in 
many  ways  superior  to  the  nations  roundabout  her. 
Her  very  development  created  friction.  And  the  talk  of 
Japan  as  a  menace  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  Japan 
has  grown  out  of  the  lowly  state  in  which  her  exclusion- 
ists  had  placed  her  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years. 
As  yet  China  is  no  "menace,"  for  China  has  still  her 
teeming  hordes  who  curtail  one  another's  usefulness. 

Nor,  as  I  have  said  in  the  chapter  on  Australasia,  will 
the  problem  of  our  relationship  with  the  people  of  the 
Pacific  be  solved  by  the  effort  of  labor  to  keep  up  its  own 
high  standards  by  the  exclusion  of  those  of  lower  stand- 
ard. 

Nor  will  the  problem  be  solved  by  our  assuming 
more  and  more  protectorates  over  simple  nations  unused 
to  the  tricks  of  diplomacy. 

Our  problem  will  be  solved  only  by  working  assidu- 
ously for  international  cooperation.  Our  problem  will 
clear  away  when  all  nations  establish  departments  open 
to  civil-service  appointments  of  people  who  will  enter 
the  field  of  education  and  uplift  work  without  other 
compensation  possible  than  that  of  an  honest  salary. 
There  should  be  a  Department  of  Education  for  the  Pa- 
cific in  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  do  out  of 
their  own  funds  what  we  did  in  China  out  of  the  moneys 
paid  in  the  Boxer  indemnity.  This  department  would 
study  the  races  of  the  Pacific  with  a  view  to  finding  what 
are  the  special  requirements  of  each  particular  people 
and  how  they  can  be  supplied.  There  should  be  a  Bureau 
of  Social  Hygiene  and  Sanitary  Engineering  recruited 


390  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

from  the  American  student  body  with  luring  pay,  draw- 
ing thousands  of  young  physicians  and  engineers  out  into 
the  various  Pacific  islands  to  study  the  questions  of  the 
eradication  of  disease  and  the  care  of  body  and  mind. 
There  should  be  a  Bureau  of  Civics  and  International 
Law  carrying  to  the  peoples  of  the  Pacific  whose  sim- 
plicity lays  them  open  to  the  chicanery  of  political  para- 
sites the  simple  truths  of  human  relationships  as  we 
understand  them.  So  the  entire  fabric  of  civilization 
might  be  spread  over  the  waters  of  the  Pacific.  But  to 
guard  against  the  possibility  of  some  sword  piercing  it 
and  rending  it  must  come  the  voice  of  civilization  calling 
shame  upon  the  present  practices  of  any  nation  now 
operating  in  the  Pacific  in  other  than  pacific  ways. 

All  this  must  be  done  not  by  America  alone,  but  by  all 
the  people  now  in  a  position  to  cooperate.  Just  as 
Japan  codified  her  laws  and  changed  them  in  conformity 
with  those  of  the  West,  so  as  to  regain  full  rights  over 
foreigners  in  her  own  territory,  so  must  all  the  nations 
reorganize  their  laws  in  conformity  with  the -best  inter- 
ests of  all.  There  must  be  judges  in  all  lands  who  know 
the  laws  of  other  lands  as  well  as  their  own  and  an  at- 
tempt be  made  to  bring  them  all  in  greater  conformity 
to  a  universal  standard  of  justice,  of  right  and  wrong. 
There  must  be  educators  set  to  work  studying  the  edu- 
cational systems  of  nations  on  the  Pacific  so  as  to  bring 
the  methods  more  and  more  in  line  with  one  another. 
There  must  be  departments  of  health  advising  one  an- 
other how  so  to  remedy  conditions  as  to  eliminate  the 
danger  of  spread  of  plague.  It  is  not  enough  that  we 
have  an  excellent  department  of  health  vigilant  in  the 
exclusion  of  plague ;  our  department  of  health  should  co- 
operate with  that  of  Japan  and  of  Australasia,  and  of 
every  island  in  the  Pacific.  In  other  words,  we  must 
realize  that  the  problems  of  every  group  anywhere  in 
the  world  affect  for  good  or  ill  our  own  welfare. 

Our  problem  in  the  Pacific  is  therefore  ten  times  more 


UNCHABTED  SEAS  391 

complicated  than  that  which  faced  the  powers  in  Morocco, 
Africa  and  Persia.  While  the  diversity  of  nations  was 
great  in  Europe,  in  the  Pacific  it  is  greater.  But  while 
the  relationship  in  the  Balkans  was  in  some  cases  close, 
not  only  in  sheer  propinquity,  but  in  development,  in 
the  Pacific  not  only  is  the  blood  running  in  the  veins  of 
the  races  in  many  cases  extremely  alien,  one  to  the  other, 
but  the  distances  separating  them  in  space  and  in  devel- 
opment make  cooperation  and  getting  together  difficult. 
This  makes  it  easier  for  selfish  nations  to  place  them- 
selves as  wedges  between  them.  The  scramble  after 
mandates  in  the  Pacific  indicates  the  recognition  of  their 
importance. 

But  in  inverse  ratio, — in  so  far  as  the  races  of  the 
Pacific  have  none  of  the  irritating  intimacy  which  ob- 
tained in  Europe,  the  problem  is  clearer.  The  repeti- 
tion of  the  intrigues  which  Germany,  through  her  daugh- 
ter on  the  Russian  throne,  could  carry  out,  is  here  im- 
possible. Only  once  in  my  knowledge  has  royal  inter- 
marriage been  attempted  and  it  proved  a  failure.  The 
Japanese  changed  their  law  against  the  marriage  of  their 
royalty  with  royalty  of  another  race  in  favor  of  Korea 
— and  to  forestall  a  Japanese-Korean  union  we  are  told, 
the  Ex-Emperor  of  Korea  committed  suicide.  Insurrec- 
tion followed.  The  marriage  has  since  taken  place,  but 
Korea  is  no  longer  an  independent  empire. 

The  more  pronounced  differences  of  race  should  per- 
haps be  recognized,  but  recognized  with  sympathy. 
Each  race  then  presents  its  own  problems.  But  over  all 
must  come  recognition  of  the  commonalty  of  man.  This 
does  not  mean  international  fawning  and  flattering  of 
one  another.  Racial  equality  must  be  admitted,  but  not 
as  Japan  sponsored  it, — with  the  existence  of  her  own 
castes  and  classes,  and  the  oppression  of  Korea, — but  in 
full  recognition  of  the  latent  possibilities  in  all  peoples. 
Japan  regards  herself  as  infinitely  superior  to  all  man- 


392  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

kind.  So  do  we.  But  that  must  be  replaced  by  realiza- 
tion of  the  historical  worthiness  of  Orientals  as  well  as 
Caucasians. 

We  have  in  the  Pacific,  as  has  been  seen,  a  great  num- 
ber of  races  in  varying  degrees  of  development.  Most  of 
them  know  little  of  one  another  and  hate  one  another 
less.  They  have  never  been  close  enough  for  serious 
conflict,  and  they  need  never  be.  "We  can  instil  into 
them  through  educational  channels  a  regard  for  one  an- 
other which  all  the  love-potions  in  the  world  could  not 
pour  into  the  races  of  Europe,  inured  to  war  and  slaugh- 
ter and  religious  bigotry. 

There  is  still  one  great  obstacle  in  the  way  of  a  peace- 
ful solution  of  the  problems  of  the  Pacific,  an  obstacle 
that  can  be  overcome  only  by  a  rapid  evolution  or  revolu- 
tion. Even  as  the  forces  for  the  greater  liberation  of 
the  people  are  at  work  in  China,  now  bound  no  more 
by  her  own  swaddling-clothes  of  imperialism,  so  must 
they  be  encouraged  in  Japan,  whose  bureaucracy  is 
to-day  entangling  not  only  her  own  liberal  elements,  but 
a  greater  number  of  nations  in  the  Pacific.  Jingoists 
speak  of  the  yellow  peril  as  though  it  were  a  single  thing, 
elemental  and  simply  conquerable.  But  it  is  not  very 
different  from  the  peril  of  imperialism  everywhere. 

In  the  working  out  of  the  problems  of  the  Pacific, 
Japan  is  the  farthest  from  our  ken.  Our  relations  with 
Australia  and  New  Zealand  and  with  Canada — apart 
from  Great  Britain — are  already  more  or  less  intimate. 
Just  as  Japan  is  beginning  to  realize  that  she  must  make 
China  her  friend,  so  must  we  four  Western  nations  on 
the  Pacific  realize  the  fullness  of  the  possibilities  in  co- 
operation. There  should  be  an  exchange  of  opinion,  a 
greater  supply  of  news  from  one  to  the  other, — news  of 
personal,  educational  and  geographical  value,  in  the  na- 
ture of  local  news.  With  these  four  countries  as  a  nu- 
cleus and  the  same  thing  going  on  between  China  and 


UNCHAETED  SEAS  393 

Japan,  the  problem  of  the  East  understanding  the  West 
will  be  simplified. 

But  we  must  show  that  we  appreciate  the  fine  points 
in  the  Oriental  civilizations,  while  the  Orient  will  have  to 
remove  from  its  conscience  the  hatred  of  the  foreigner. 
The  millennium?  Not  in  the  least.  Just  the  beginning 
of  our  groping  toward  human  commonalty. 


APPENDIX 


Mr.  Sydney  Greenble, 
New  York,  U.S.A. 

DBAS  SIR  : 

Your  letter  of  26th  March  has  been  forwarded  to  me  from  Samoa.  I  re- 
linquished the  Administration  when  Civil  Government  was  established  there. 

The  Chief  whose  funeral  you  saw  was  TAMASESE,  a  son  of  the  late  King 
Tamasese.  .  .  .  MATAAFA,  the  son  of  King  Mataafa,  died  in  the  influenza  epi- 
demic in  1918  and  I  dug  his  grave  with  my  own  hands,  everyone  working  hard 
to  avoid  a  pestilence. 

The  Chief  TAMASESE  was  made  much  of  by  the  Germans  when  they  were 
In  Samoa,  was  taken  a  trip  to  Berlin  but  was  not  allowed  to  visit  England.  He 
remained  pro-German  to  the  end ;  one  of  the  few  Samoans  who  did  so. 

On  his  death-bed  Tamasese  remembered  a  promise  made  to  his  deceased 
father  (he  said  the  spirit  of  his  father  appeared  to  him  and  reproached  him) 
that  he  would  bring  the  late  King's  bones  to  the  family  burying  place  and  he 
could  not  die  in  peace  until  this  was  done.  I  was  approached  in  the  matter 
and  at  once  sent  a  Government  launch  with  the  family  party  to  get  the  bones, 
and  they  were  put  in  a  coffin  and  buried  in  the  family  ground.  This  done. 
Tamasese  passed  away  in  peace  in  a  very  short  time. 

You  are  probably  aware  that  when  Tamasese's  body  was  lying  in  state  the 
hair  was  sprinkled  with  gold  dust  and  a  German  crown  made  of  white  flowers 
was  placed  on  the  coffin.  The  widow  had  a  Samoan  house  built  alongside  the 
tomb  on  the  Mulinuu  peninsula  and  lived  in  it  for  some  months  in  spite  of  the 
stench  which  came  from  the  tomb.  She  died  in  the  influenza  epidemic  in  1918, 
having  In  the  meantime  named  one  of  the  native  Samoan  judges. 

I  am  sorry  the  information  I  can  give  you  is  so  meagre,  but  I  have  not  my 
records  here  as  yet. 

Tours   faithfully, 

ROBERT  LOGAN, 

Colonel. 
Weycroft, 
Axminster, 
Devon,  England, 
13th  July,  1921. 

B 

DEAR  MR.  GRBENBID  : 

Your  letter  of  Feb.  20th  was  forwarded  on  to  me  here,  and  reached  me 
yesterday. 

I  regret  that  I  cannot  tell  you  definitely  as  to  the  celebration  held  In 
Samoa  in  1915,  in  honor  of  the  late  "King"  ;  I  returned  to  Samoa  in  1917  after 
an  absence  of  some  years,  and  heard  nothing  of  it.  I  think,  however,  that  the 
celebration  must  have  been  for  Mataafa,  as  the  natives  told  you  that  the  de- 
ceased Chief  had  been  the  favorite  of  Mataafa. 

Stevenson  rather  despised  Laupepa  who  although  an  amiable  man  and  the 
rightful  King,  was  of  feeble  character,  and  when  broken  up  by  the  suffering  and 
Indignity  of  his  deportation  by  the  Germans,  weakly  ceded  the  throne  to  Mataafa 
out  of  gratitude  for  the  stand  taken  by  the  latter  on  his  behalf  during  the  years 
of  his  exile. 

My  own  conviction  is  that,  had  R.  L.  S.  lived  a  few  years  longer,  he  would 
have  realized  that  his  championship  of  Mataafa  was  a  mistake,  and  precipitated 
the  very  event  he  wished  to  avoid — the  German  rule  in  Samoa. 
Very  sincerely  yours, 


Apia,  Samoa, 
October  5th,  1904. 
A.  M.  Sutherland,  Esq., 
San  Francisco,  U.S.A. 

DBAR  SIR  : 

The  kind  Invitation  extended  to  me  by  the  members  of  the  "Stevenson 
Fellowship"  through  your  welcome  letter  of  the  17th  August,  1904,  has  been 
received  by  me  with  great  delight.  I  thank  you  and  the  Committee  from  the 
bottom  of  my  heart  for  remembering  me,  and  for  including  my  name  In  the  long 
list  of  friends  whom  Tusitala  has  left  behind  to  mourn  his  irreparable  loas.  I 

395 


396  THE  PACIFIC  TRIANGLE 

would  have  very  much  liked  to  be  present  and  meet  you  all  on  this  fitting  occa- 
sion, but  the  fact  is,  my  health  and  old  age  will  not  permit  me  to  cross  the  vast 
waters  over  to  America.  So  I  send  you  many  greetings  wishing  the  "Stevenson 
Fellowship"  every  success  on  the  13th  November  next.  And  whilst  you  are 
celebrating  this  memorable  day  in  America,  we  shall  even  celebrate  it  in  Samoa 
It  is  true  that  I,  like  yourselves,  revere  the  memory  of  Tusitala.  Though  the 
strong  hand  of  Death  has  removed  him  from  our  midst,  yet  the  remembrance  of 
his  many  humane  acts,  let  alone  his  literary  career,  will  never  be  forgotten. 
That  household  name,  Tusitala,  is  as  euphonious  to  our  Samoan  ears  as  much 
as  the  name  Stevenson  is  pleasing  to  all  other  European  friends  and  admirers. 
Tusitala  was  born  a  hero,  and  he  died  a  hero  among  men.  He  was  a  man  of 
his  word,  but  a  man  of  deeds  not  words.  When  first  I  saw  Tusitala  he  ad- 
dressed me  and  said :  "Samoa  is  a  beautiful  country.  I  like  its  people  and 
clime,  and  shall  write  in  my  books  accordingly.  The  Samoan  Chiefs  may  be 
compared  to  our  Scotch  Chiefs  at  home  in  regard  to  their  clans."  "Then  stay 
here  with  me,"  I  said,  "and  make  Samoa  your  home  altogether."  "That  I  will, 
and  even  if  the  Lord  calls  me,"  was  the  reply.  Tusitala — story-writer — spoke 
the  truth,  for  even  now  he  is  still  with  me  in  Samoa.  Truth  is  great  and  must 
endure.  Tusitala's  religion  and  motto  was :  "Do  ye  to  others  as  ye  would  have 
them  do  unto  you."  Hence  this  noble,  illustrious  man  has  won  my  love  and 
admiration,  as  well  as  the  esteem  and  respect  of  all  who  knew  him.  My  God 
is  the  same  God  who  called  away  Tusitala,  and  when  it  has  pleased  Him  for 
my  appointed  time  to  come,  then  I  will  gladly  join  T.  in  that  eternal  home 
where  we  meet  to  part  no  more. 

With  perfect  assurance  of  my  best  wishes  for  your  progress  and  prosperity, 
— I  remain,  dear  sir,  cordially  yours, 

M.  I. 
C.  C.  MATAAFA 

High  Chief  of  Samoa. 

D 

April  24,  1921 
DEAR  MADAM  : 

Thank  you  very  much  for  the  letter  which  came  some  four  months  ago.  I 
read  it  over,  over  and  over  again  to  memorise  every  word  of  the  letter,  and  it 

was  a  glad   toil.     I  thought   of  you    and   Mr I   thought  of   Messrs. 

F.  ...  D.  ...  and  R.  .  .  .  and  Miss  G.  .  .  .,  every  body  to-gether  and  every 
body  separate  that  gave  me  untold  happiness,  and  I  heard  the  throbs  of  my  heart. 
I  told  to  my  wife  who  is  very  glad  to  hear  from  me.  As  you  know  I  got  married 
in  the  year  of  1913.  And  we  have  five  children  now.  Please  don't  be  scared  ! 
Two  boys  and  three  daughters.  Takako  oldest  daughter  six  year,  seven  months 
old.  Takashige,  William  (boy)  four  years;  Fuziko  Elsie  two  years  and  nearly 
four  months ;  Chiyeko,  Lucie  eight  months  old.  And  this  made  me  perfect  papa, 
which  is  my  joy  and  my  pride !  Beside  this  I  have  thirty  acres  of  orange 
orchard  (four  years  old)  all  is  my  own,  and  my  wife's  now  which  brought  me 
four  (boxes-horses)  (?)  poor  fruit  year  before  last,  and  seventy  two  boxes  better 

fruit  last  year.     I  am  expecting  greater  crop  this  fall.     I  read  Mr.  article 

about  June  drop  in  California  Cultivator,  and  irrigated  my  orchards  last  Decem- 
ber and  this  year  I  started  to  wet  from  February  which  no  body  does  this  in 
this  visinity  (orchardists  of  here  keep  orchards  with  weeds  and  wild  oats  as 
high  as  my  shoulder  all  winter  and  tBey  wait  irrigation  until  orchards  perfectly 

dry  and  cracke.)     I  am  taking  care  our  orchards  after  Mr.  idea  mostly 

with  some  of  my  own,  as  I  feel  as  it  mine  but  all  of  them  are  a  collection  of 
idea  of  other  people's  experiences. 

I  have  debt  of  five  thousand  five  hundreds  dollars  which  need  not  to  pay 
interest  except  one  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  This  is  my  joy  and  my  pride 
too,  is  it  not? 

Five  children  and  five  thousand  five  hundreds  dollars  debt  are  not  big  Job 
to  carry  on,  ror  me,  but  they  make  me  very  busy  indeed.  For  this  reason,  I  do 
not  write  to  my  friends,  as  often  as  I  wish,  of  course  I  can,  if  I  do,  like  this 
one,  but  it  is  great  strain  for  me  now. 

Therefore  please  will  kindly  excuse,  I  shall  not  write  you  again  until  next 
Christmas  probably. 

Please  remember  me  to  Mr. and  All  your  family. 

When  you  will  come  to  Terra  Bella  to  see  Mr.  . 

When  you  have  spare  time,  and  when  you  thought  of  old  servant,  please 
stop  a  moment  at  my  humble  dwelling  place  and  give  me  chance  to  hear  your 
voice  directly.  That  will  be  my  honor,  that  which  will  encourage  me,  if  it  is 
possible  with  Mr.  F.  P.  It  will  be  a  greater  honor  for  us.  Befor  I  ask  you  to 
come  to  see  us,  we  should  go  to  see  you  first,  but  just  excuse  for  the  reasons  as 
above  written. 

I  shall  leave  the  pen  with  prare  of  your  sound  health,  and  happiness.  God 
be  with  you. 

From  your  old  servant 


INDEX 


ADELAIDE,  132,  146 

Adler,  90 

Africa,  391 

Alaska,  5,  317 

Albatross,  129  et  aeq. 

America:  10,  22,  100;  pioneer,  prob- 
lems of,  312,  314;  insular  posses- 
sions of,  316  et  seq.;  adventures 
of,  in  Pacific,  317  et  seq.;  diplo- 
macy of,  in  China,  326;  Japan  in, 
342  et  seq.;  Japanese  immigra- 
tion to,  345;  attitude  of,  toward 
Eastern  affairs,  371  et  seq. 

Ameridians,  6,  23,  25,  119 

Andrews,  C.  F.,  cited  on  self-deter- 
mination, 228 

Andrews,  Roy  Chapman,  quoted,  22 

Anglo-Japanese  Alliance,  355,  357, 
359-360,  363,  367,  381 

Antarctic,  10 

Anthropologists,  24 

Antipodes:  9,  26,  76;  legislation  in, 
285  et  seq. 

Apia:  87,  88,  100,  101,  105,  207; 
a  party  in,  240  et  seq. 

Arafua  Sea,  139,  157 

Aryans,  20 

"Asahi  Shimbun,"  quoted  on  Ameri- 
can diplomacy,  326 

Asia:  relation  of,  to  human  exist- 
ence, 6  et  seq.;  14,  18,  22;  culture 
of,  23;  Britain's  rock  in,  168-178 

Atlantic,  141 

Atua,  76 

Auckland:  13,  110,  114;  market, 
272;  Art  Gallery,  118 

"Auckland  Daily  News,"  351 

Aurora,  Shackleton's  ship,  128 

Australasia:  political  problems  af- 
fecting, 281-296;  intermarriage 
in,  355  et  seq. 

Australasians:  games  of,  355  et  aeq. 

Australia:  5,  6,  9,  14,  22,  53;  popu- 
lation of,  150,  158;  and  the  labor 
problem,  289  et  seq.;  and  immi- 
gration, 292;  and  labor  legisla- 
tion, 293,  294;  attitude  of,  toward 
independence,  353 ;  and  the  Anglo- 
Japanese  Alliance,  347-363 

Australian  Immigration  Law,  295 


Australoids,  21 

Ava:  93,  94;  making  of,  69,  70 

Balboa :  discovery  of  the  Pacific  by, 

3  et  seq.;  quoted,  3,  10 
Balkans,  391 
Bancroft,  quoted,  212 
Banda  Sea,   139 
Bagg,  Mr.,  145 
Ban,  230 
Bass  Straits,  131 
Beach-combers,  89 
Belgium,  317 
Best,  Mr.  Elsdon,  235 
Birds  of  New  Zealand,  124,  125 
Bishop,  Mrs.  Bernice,  235 
Black-birding,  68 
Bland,  J.  0.  P.,  344 
Bluff,  129 

Boas,  Franz,  quoted,  24 
Boer  War,  354 
Bondy,  132 
Bonin  Islands,  357 
Botany  Bay,  6,  132 
Boxer    Indemnity   Fund,    323,    328, 

389 

Boxer  Uprising,  308,  365 
Brisbane,  136,  152 
Britain,  outpost  of,  in  Asia,  168-178 

See  also  England,  Great  Britain 
British  Club,  96 
Brown,  Dr.  McMillan,  25 
Bryce,  Viscount,  quoted  on  Pacific 

Islands  group,  387 
Buddha,  8 

"Bulletin,"  Honolulu,  38 
Bushido,  305,  309 

Calhoun,  326 

California,  40,  103,  104,  343,  345 
Cannibalism,  27,  28,  216 
Canoes,  25 
Canton,  4 
Cape  Horn,  5 
Cape  Liptrap,  131 
Caroline  Islands,  125 
Caucasia,  17,  28 
Celebes  Sea,  139 

Chamberlain,  Professor  Basil  Hall, 
quoted  on  Shintoism,  304,  305 


397 


398 


INDEX 


Chaplin,  Charlie,  43 

Chapman,  John,  312 

Chatham  Islands,  26 

Chidley,  149 

Chicago,  184 

China:  Great  Wall  of,  4;  effect  of 
famine  in,  27,  39,  129;  licentious- 
ness in,  176,  177;  coolieism  in, 
177;  waking  of,  189;  standards 
of,  189,  190;  and  the  Twenty-one 
Demands,  306;  American  trade 
with,  308;  bureaucracy  and,  324 
et  seq.;  development  of,  365;  con- 
sortium for  financing,  364  et  seq., 
373;  need  of  constructive  work 
in,  377;  latest  loan  to,  377 

China  Sea,  139,  141 

Chinese:  30,  132,  133;  gambling, 
141;  music,  176;  superstition  of, 
186 

Chosen  People,  21 

Christchurch,  New  Zealand.  109, 
143 

Civil  War,  120 

Coan,  Dr.  Titus  Munson,  cited,  215, 
216 

Cocoa  plantations,  105 

Compasses,  25 

Confucius,  6 

Consortium:  Agreement,  370;  func- 
tion of  the,  381,  382,  383 

Consumption,  120 

Cook,  Captain  James,  5,  7,  18.  28, 
216,  261 

Coolieism,  177,  212,  343 

Copra,  53,  56,  57 

Coral  reefs,  37 

Cradle  of  Mankind,  21 

Culture,  27 

Customs,  23 

Dante,  89 

Darwin:    quoted  on  South  Pacific, 

22,  24,  28 
Davuilevu,  61,  62 
Deakin,  Mr.  Alfred,  349 
Dengue  fever,   110 
Desolation  Gully,  112 
Dewey,  Professor :  cited  on  Japanese 

birth  rate,  343 
Divorce,  254  et  seq. 
Draft  Act:   in  relation  to  the  Ma- 

ories,  123 

Drake,  Sir  Francis,  4,  7,  9 
Dunedin,    New   Zealand,    109,    112, 

113,  127 
Dutch,  4,  10 

East  and  West  News  Bureau:  state- 
ment of  on  alien  labor  in  Japan, 
332,  385 


Easter  Islands,  25 

Eastern,  the,  132,  133,  136 

Eden,  17,  23 

Elephantiasis,  94,  95 

Ellis,  Havelock,  quoted,  283 

Emerson,   108 

England,  19,  20,  22,  24.     See  also 

Great  Britain 
English,  19,  20 
English  Corporal  Correction  League, 

135 

Episcopal  See  of  Australia,  138 
Equator:   astride  the,  128-142 
Europe,  17,  20,  22 
Europeans:  18;  effect  of  famine  on, 

27,  52 
"Evening    Post,"    Wellington,    New 

Zealand,  quoted,  358,  359 
Extinction:   danger  of,  of  primitive 

races,  205  et  seq. 

Famine:  effect  of  upon  civilized  na- 
tions, 27 

Fan-tan,  141 

Fiji:  11,  12,  13,  18,  21,  32;  relation 
of,  to  the  Pacific,  52  et  seq.;  81, 
105,  356 

"Fiji  Times,"  Manager  of,  quoted, 
58 

Fijians:  14;  characteristics  of,  19, 
20,  21;  study  of,  52-78;  personal 
appearance  of,  59,  60;  character- 
istics of,  64  et  90q.;  dances  of,  67; 
women,  70  et  seq.;  tastes  of,  71 
et  seq.;  music  and  dances  of,  71, 
72;  schools  for,  76,  84,  85,  86; 
jail  of  the,  73;  submersion  of, 
223  et  seq. 

Filipinos:  habits  and  customs  of, 
162  et  seq. 

Fire-walkers  of  Mbenga,  13 

Food,  27 

Formosa,  298 

Four-River  Group,  372 

France,  100 

Frenchmen,  20 

Fujiyama,  35,  193 

German  New  Guinea,  156 
German  Plantation  Company,  89 
Germans:  in  Samoa,  88,  89,  90 
Germany,  24,  100,  389,  391 
Golden  Gate,  7 
Governor  of  Samoa,  101 
Great  Barrier  Island,  13 
Great  Barrier  Reef,  136,  137 
Great  Britain:   attitude  of,  toward 

Pacific  possessions,   283   et   seq.; 

360,  361;  attitude  of  toward  her 

colonies,  362 


INDEX 


399 


Great  Wall  of  China,  4 
Gregory,  Professor,  384 


Haleakala,  48 

Halemaumau,  51 

Hauraki  Gulf,  13 

Hawaii:  music  of,  8,  9,  16,  17,  23, 
32;  aspirations  of,  42;  birth-rate, 
43;  assimilation  in,  43;  foot-bind- 
ing in,  44;  kinship,  44;  racial 
evanescence,  44;  dances  of,  72, 
105;  divorce  in,  255  et  seq.;  cen- 
sus of,  261,  317,  356 

Hawaiians :  14,  20,  30 ;  racial  purity 
percentage  of  the,  213  et  seq. 

"Hawaiki,"  by  Percy  Smith,  cited, 
26 

Hearn,  Lafcadio:  cited  on  fruit  of 
intermarriage,  263 

Heasley,  Inspector,  97 

Heinie's,  39 

Heliolithic  man,  18 

"Hibbert  Journal,"  quoted  on  Fi- 
jian mind,  232-234 

Hilo,  48 

Hindus,  78 

Himalaya  Mountains,  22 

Hong-Kong:  109,  141,  167,  169  et 
seq.;  slums  of,  171;  poverty  in, 
172;  surgery  in,  176;  birth-rate 
in,  176;  music  in,  176 

Honolulu:  7,  9;  our  frontier  in  the 
Pacific,  30-51;  the  spirit,  37  et 
seq.,  235.  See  also  Hawaii 

Huang-Hsu,  365 

Hughes,  Premier  William  Morris: 
attitude  of,  toward  conscription, 
288,  355,  359,  360 

Hukuan  Railway,  378 

Imperial  Conferences,  347  et  seq. 

Imperial  Diet,  384 

India,  17,  18,  21,  63,  117 

Indians,  77 

Infanticide,  216 

Inouye,  Count:  quoted  on  Japanese 

merchants  in  Korea,  309 
"Invention  of  a  New  Religion,"  by 

Basil   Hall  Chamberlain,   quoted, 

304,  305 

Ishii-Lansing  Agreement,  370,  371 
Izanagi,  21 
Izanami,  21 

Japan:  4,  5,  7,  9;  awakening  of,  28, 
29,  132,  135,  282;  in  relation  to 
the  Pacific  problem,  297  et  seq.; 
foreign  policies  of,  299  et  seq.; 
race-pride  of,  302;  government  of, 
303;  Democracy  in,  305;  attitude 


of,  toward  commercialization, 
306;  American  trade  with,  308; 
in  Siberia,  308;  Buddhism  in, 
324;  relations  of,  326  et  seq.;  and 
alien  labor,  331;  foreign  popula- 
tion statistics  of,  334;  naturaliza- 
tion in,  337  et  seq.;  science  in, 
341  et  seq.;  in  America,  342  et 
seq.;  birth-rate,  343;  attitude  of, 
toward  financiering  China,  373, 
374;  attitude  of  the  Orient  to- 
ward, 376;  and  the  Pacific  prob- 
lem, 379;  and  Manchurian  rail- 
ways, 380 

"Japan  Chronicle,"  quoted  in  Brit- 
ish educational  work  in  Hong- 
Kong,  177;  quoted  on  English  pol- 
icy, 362 

"Japan:  Real  and  Imaginary,"  by 
Sydney  Greenbie,  297 

Japanese:  21,  25,  30,  31;  races,  72, 
94.  See  also  Japan 

Java,  4,  22 

Joan  of  Arc,  51 

Junnosuke  Inouye,  375 

Kaiser,  the,  104 

Kamehamea,  36,  50,  215 

Kaneohe,  35,  36,  51 

Kapiolani,  51 

Katori-maru,  192 

Keats,  quoted,  3 

Kellerman,  Annette,  148 

Kiao-chau,  368 

Kilauea,  8,  50 

Kinglake,  24 

Kinship   of  Pacific  peoples,  20  01 

seq. 

Kipling,  116 
Knox,  Secretary,  366 
Kobe:  business  situation  in,  335 
Korea:   4,  298;   Japan's  actions  in, 

309;  the  case  of,  317,  324,  391 
Kyoto,  7 

Labor:  conditions  in  New  Zealand, 
6;  in  Fiji,  13  et  seq.;  legislation 
in  New  Zealand,  116;  indentured, 
222 

Lake  Rotorua,  122 

Lali,  71,  73,  78 

Lamont,  Mr.  Thomas  W. :  364;  ne- 
gotiations with  Japan  by,  375; 
mission  of,  to  China,  376,  377; 
statement  of,  379,  380 

Language,  22,  23 

Lansing,  Mr.:  370;  attitude  of,  to- 
ward loans  to  China,  372 

Lao-Tsze,  269 

Laupepa,  395 


400 


INDEX 


League  of  Nations,  358 

Legend:  and  the  Pacific,  24  et  seq. 

"Lending  Money  to  China,"  by  Syd- 
ney Greenbie,  371 

Leper  Island,  Molokai,  8 

Levuka,  75,  85 

Lindsay,  Vachell,  312 

Little  Barrier  Island,  13 

Logan,  Colonel  Robert:  101,  104; 
letter  of,  395 

London,  Charmian,  38 

London,  Jack,  10 

Longford,  Professor,  "The  Story  of 
Korea,"  quoted,  309 

Los  Angeles,  30 

Lost  Tribes  of  Israel,  23 

Lurline,  7,  9 

Luzon,  158 

Mackaye,  Arthur,  36  et  teq. 

Magellan,  4,  9,  18 

Magneta  Island,   137 

"Main  Street,"  313 

Malays,  308 

Manchuria,  344,  373 

Mangoes,  105 

Manila:  32,  141,  158  et  sea.;  de- 
scription of,  163  et  seq.;  271 

Manoa  Valley,  33,  34,  37 

Manono,  87 

Maories:  20,  23,  26;  dances  of  the, 
72,  110,  118  et  seq.;  vital  statis- 
tics of,  123;  racial  discrimination 
against,  250 

Maoriland,  17 

Marital  contracts,  240-253 

Markets,  265-278 

Marquesas,  5,  26,  52 

Marshall  Islands,  319,  357 

Martin,  Alonso,  4 

Mason,  Mr.  Gregory,  368 

Mataafa,  396;  letter,  395,  396 

Mbenga:   mystic  fire-walkers  of,  13 

McDuffie,  Mr.,  217,  218 

Melanesia,  18,  19,  23,  26,  27 

Melanesian-Fijians,  20,  21 

Melba,  Madame,  145 

Melbourne,  129,  143,  144,  349 

Melville,  10,  24 

Message,  Mr.,  quoted,  61 

Micronesia,  23,  26,  27 

Migrations,  20 

"Millard's  Review,"  368 

Mindanao,  140,  158 

Mindoro,  158 

Missionaries:  19;  Fijian,  65  et  *eq.; 
68,  69,  73,  121,  231,  236 

Moa,  28 

Moji,  191 

Molokai,  the  leper  island,  8 


Molucca  Sea,  139 

Mongolia,  373 

Monroe  Doctrine,  316 

Monroe   Doctrine   of   Asia,    297    et 

seq.,  320 
Monterey,  103 

Montessori  Method:  in  Fiji,  67 
Mormon  missionaries,  23 
"Morning  Herald,"   Sydney,  quoted 

on  America's  War  policy,  350,  351 
Morocco,  390 
Mt.  Eden,  110 
Mount  Vaea,  103 
Mua  Peak,  87 
Mulinuu,  91 
Mummy-apples,  20,  59 

Nagasaki,  376 

Napier,  New  Zealand,  276 

Napoleon:  20;  in  relation  to  Fijian 
legend,  21 

Negros,  158 

New  South  Wales,  146 

New  York,  111,  113,  184,  270,  364 

"New  York  Times,"  on  Japanese, 
311 

New  Zealand:  labor  conditions  in, 
6,  13,  14,  17,  20,  23,  26,  72,  84, 
105;  study  of,  108-127;  home  life 
in,  111;  the  bush  of,  111;  farm- 
ers, 112  et  seq.;  newspapers,  113; 
population,  113;  characteristics, 
114,  115;  girls,  115;  progressive- 
ness,  116;  development,  117  et 
seq.;  Parliament,  in  relation  to 
the  Draft  Act,  123,  133,  145 ;  and 
the  class  system,  286  et  seq.; 
policy  toward  England,  353 

Niagara,  the,  9,  10,  11,  16,  53,  62, 
79,  86,  111 

Nichi  Nichi  Shummun,  309,  note 

Nicholas  of  Russia,  361 

Night-blooming  cereus,  33 

Niuafoou,  12,  13 

North  Island,  112 

Oahu:  40;  College,  63 
O'Brien,  Frederick,  10,  24 
One  hundred   and  eightieth  merid- 
ian, 11,  13,  195 
Open  Door,  367,  369,  371 
Origins  of  races,  22 
"Osaka  Asahi,"  360 
"Outlines  of  History,"  Wells,  29 

Pacific:  discovery  of,  3  et  seq.;  sig- 
nificance of,  7;  effect  of  the  mid-, 
on  time,  11;  kinship  of  Pacific 
peoples,  20  et  seq.;  Darwin  quoted 
on  South,  22;  origin  of,  cultures, 


INDEX 


401 


23;  Griffith  Taylor  quoted  on 
size  of,  24;  counter-invasion  of, 
28  et  seq.;  our  frontier  in  the, 
30  et  seq.;  relation  of  Fiji  to  the, 
52;  outposts  of  the  white  man  in 
the  far,  143  et  s>eq.;  our  peg  in 
the  far,  158-167 ;  ideals  that  dwell 
around  the,  199-201;  Hindu  prob- 
lems and  the,  225;  political  prob- 
lems of  the,  281  et  seq.;  adven- 
tures of  America  in  the,  317  et 
seq.;  causes  of  confusion  obtain- 
ing in  the,  386,  387 

Pago  Pago,  10,  82,  317 

Paleolithic  life,   16 

Pali,  the,  35,  37,  50 

Panama  Canal,  315 

Panama-Pacific  Exposition,  79 

Panay,  158 

Pan-Pacific  Union,  236 

Papuans,  53 

Pasig  Kiver,  161 

"Paul  and  Virginia,"  137 

Pavlova,  46 

Peace  Conference,  357,  358,  371 

Peace  Treaty,  358 

Persia,  390 

Pescadores,  357 

Pharaohs,  25 

Philippines:  6,  32,  140,  317;  prob- 
lem of  the,  318  et  seq.;  and  inde- 
pendence, 328 

Pilgrims,  17 

Pleistonic  period,  20 

Polyandry,  220 

Polynesia:  17,  18,  23,  27;  present 
status  of,  29 

Polynesians:  19;  origin  of  the,  20, 
23,  24,  25,  28,  52;  dances  of  the, 
72,  88,  206;  character  of  the  an- 
cient, 215;  and  the  problem  of  in- 
termarriage, 237  et  seq. 

Population:  limitation  of,  27,  28; 
decline  of,  30  et  seq. 

Port  Chalmers,  129 

Port  Williamson,  132 

Portuguese,  4,  30 

Poverty  Bay,  28 

Prisoners:   Fiji,  73,  74 

Promotion  Committee:  of  Honolulu, 
34;  "Primer"  of  the,  41 

Queensland,  138,  146 

Race-blending,  28  et  seq. 

Rangatora,  120,  121 

Rarotanga,  93 

Ratu  Joni,  230 

Reading,  Lord:  on  loans,  372 

Reinsch,  Dr.  Paul  S.,  326,  327 


Rewa  River,  Fiji,  18,  19,  60,  62,  67 

Rickshaws,  171,  178 

Rockefeller    Foundation,    173,    174, 

324 

Rolland,  108 

Roosevelt,  Colonel,  and  Korea,  318 
Root-Takahira    Agreement,    quoted, 

369,  370 

Rua,  Maori  priest,  127 
Russia,  308,  391 

Russo-Japanese  War,  317,  348,  365 
Ryecroft,  Reverend  Mr.,  65  et  seq., 

68 

Salvation  Army,  44,  45,  179 

Samoa:  10,  11,  13,  19;  cosmogony, 
21,  23,  26,  52,  84,  238,  317,  356 

Samoans:  14;  dances  of  the,  72; 
study  of  the,  79  et  seq.;  songs  of 
the,  80;  dances  of  the,  83;  hospi- 
tality of  the,  93  et  seq.,  208 

Samurai,  305 

San  Francisco,  7,  10,  184 

Santa  Anna  Valley,  137 

Savii,  26,  87 

Scientific,  236 

Scientists,  231 

Seattle,  193 

Sedan  chairs,  171 

Shackleton,  Sir  E.,  128 

Shanghai:  China's  European  capi- 
tal, 179-191;  description  of,  192 
et  seq.;  slums  of,  185;  the  Chi- 
nese city,  185  et  seq.;  market,  274 

Shantung:  297;  rape  of,  324 

Shaw,  108 

Shibusawa,  375 

Shimonoseki,  376 

Shintoism:  299;  defined,  304,  305 

Shurman,  Dr.  Jacob  Gould,  327 

Siberia,  344 

Siberian  Railway,  361 

Sikhs,  231 

Sino-Japanese  Military  Agreement, 
380 

Sino-Japanese  War,  365 

Slums;  tropical,  165;  Hong-Kong, 
171 

Smith,  Percy,  cited,  26 

Smythe,  Miss:  179;  work  of,  180- 
182 

Solomon  Islands,  65 

"Son  of  the  Middle  Border,"  313 

South  Manchurian  Railway,  375, 
380 

South  Pole,  128 

South  Seas:  5  et  seq.,  10,  12  et  seq., 
14,  30  et  seq.;  style,  32,  57,  74, 
80,  82 

Spanish,  10 


402 


INDEX 


Sponges,  37 

St.  Helena,  20 

Stevenson,  R.  L.:  10,  88,  100;  pil- 
grimage to  tomb  of,  100-105; 
home  of,  103,  387,  395 

Stevenson  Fellowship,  395 

Stewart,  Mr.  W.  Downie:  quoted  on 
status  of  New  Zealand,  359 

Stone  Age,  89 

Street,  Julian,  375 

Sulu  Sea,  139 

Sulus,  65 

Sun  Yat-sen,  Dr.,  325;  quoted,  326 

Superstition,  25 

Suva,  Fiji,  11,  13,  20,  55,  56,  57, 
58,  61,  73,  75,  76,  84,  105 

Sydney,  9,  12,  132,  139,  146  et  seq. 


Tagalog,  165 

Tagore:  116;  experiences  of  in 
Japan,  311 

Tahiti,  17,  26,  28,  52 

Talume,  12 

Tamasese,  395 

Tamba  Mcvru,  179 

Tasman,  9,  10 

Tasman  Sea,  128 

Tasmania,  132 

Tattooings  of  Time,  17 

Taylor,  Griffith:  quoted  on  size  of 
Pacific,  24 

Te  Noroto,  124 

Teraitchi,  Count,  368 

Thomson,  Basil,  cited,  13 

Thursday  Island,  155 

"Times,"  China:  quoted  on  foreign 
control  of  industries,  378 

Thoreau,  95 

Tokyo,  349 

Tolstoy,  269 

Tongans,  19,  77 

Torres  Straits,  139 

Townsville,  137 

Traders:  in  the  Far  East,  55,  89, 
236,  306 

Tradition,  22 

Tulane,  13 

Turks,  20 

Tusitala,  the  tale  teller  (Steven- 
son), 103,  395 


Typee,  5 
Typhoons,  141 

Uchida,  Viscount:    quoted  on   Con- 
sortium, 379,  384 
Union  Steamship  Company,  129 
Upolu,  87 

Vailima,  Stevenson's  home,  88,  100, 

101,  103 

Vancouver,  George,  5,  7,  18 
Venice  of  the  Pacific,  25 
Vice:    among   the   primitive   races, 

217 

Victoria,  146 
Vikings,  25 
Virginia,  151 
Vladivostok,  308 

Waikato,  124 

Waikiki,  39 

Waitemata  Harbor,  13 

Ward,  Sir  Joseph,  349,  351 

Waterhouse,  Mr.,  69 

Waterspouts,  140 

Webb,  Mr.,  245 

Wellington:  97,  109,  113;  Museum, 
235 

Wellington,  Duke  of:  cited  on  Brit- 
ain's colonies,  283 

Wells,  H.  G.,  29 

"When  the  Sleeper  Wakes,"  Wells, 
29 

White  Australia  policy,  291,  292, 
294,  348,  350 

Whitney,  Judge  William  L.,  256- 
258- 

Wilson  Administration,  318 

Wilson,  President,  382,  383 

Wi/mmera,  131 

World  War,  234,  350 

"World's  Work,"  371 

Wright,  Mr.,  of  the  "Bulletin,"  38 
et  seq. 

Wurm  ice  age,  26 

Yamada  Ise,  192 
Yokohama,  192 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  38 

Zamboanga,  140,  158 


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